Eat Slower – Lose Weight

Yeap! That’s right! You can lose weight if you eat slower.

Could it be that simple? Why would eating slower make us lose weight? Is there science to back up this claim? Have people actually done it? Did it actually work for them? Glad you asked. To find out, read on …They’re a great article in the April 12th 2010 issue of MACLEAN’s Magazine on page 52 entitled “Eat Like a Snail”. I came across this profound piece of  the weight loss puzzle while waiting in my doctor’s office. (Thanks Doc – it was the best info I got that day)

Cathy Gulli, MACLEAN’s Magazine wrote about Lynn Gustafson who had a medical condition called “torus palatinus”. As a result of her condition, Gustafson had bony growths that occured in the roof of her month. This makes eating painful and difficult. In order to eat, Gustafson would have to eat very small bits and chew them very, very well before swallowing.  Not surprising, Gustafson was a very skinny person.

Gustafson turning adversity into opportunity by decided that if her condition caused her to be skinny, then some oral device that mimicked her condition might help obese people to lose weight. She took a few friends to a dental lab in Washington where they lived and had them fitted with a retainer like device that each of them used when they ate. With in weeks, the entire group had all lost weight.

Gustafson patented the idea in 1999. Unfortunately since then, Gustafson has passed away, but her device has finally hit the market as  “SMART BITE“. The principal is simple. The less food people can fit in their months, the slower they eat, which gives their brain a chance to tell them they’re full. Another device made by a Swedish company provides verbal and visual feedback to the user to eat slower is called the “Mandolean“.

Did we mention that it takes 20 minutes after you’ve begun to eat for your brain to tell you that you’ve had enough? That’s right! it takes twenty minutes! So if you bolt your food down before your brain tells you that you’re full, you can over eat significantly. Your stomach just expands to accommodate all that extra food. There are all kinds of studies that have been done that confirm fast eaters have a significant higher risk of being obese.

In these times it shouldn’t be a surprise to us that we’ve created a society of “food bolters”. If you’re a mom, you probably work outside the home, then come home to face all the chores and mom duties that your family needs. It would be surprising if mom’s actually get to sit down to eat, never mind that they might be eating fast.  Throw in eating in-front of the TV and you have a recipe for a perfect gaining weight storm.

So you could go and buy one of these new technical marvels to decrease the food you put in your mouth and slow down your eating or you could consider some of the low tech methods that will also work. These ideas are proven and will help you lose weight if you make a committed to change in your eating habits. Here they are:

• Uses a small plate
• Use small utensils – (dessert forks or kiddy spoons)
• Chew each bit of food 30 times
• Lay your fork down between bites
• Sit at a table (no TV or computer eating)
• Dish up food in the kitchen – don’t bring bowls of food to your table)
• Get a timer and time your eating – make sure you take longer than 20 minutes per meal
• Don’t drink beverage with your meal

Author
Ron Merk
WL&S Support
http://www.blazeonline.com/wls/

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