Do you inhale your food?

I admit to eating too fast. I’ll blame it on my college years when I was a waitress. I had to eat between customers and in order to never keep a customer waiting, I mastered the art of swallowing with barely chewing my food. Unfortunately, this habit has lasted for years and no matter what the occasion or place, I usually have finished my meal before my husband has finished a quarter of his.

There are a number of reasons to break this habit. It takes a few minutes for you to feel full. When you eat quickly, you consume food so fast that by the time you feel your stomach it usually feels stuffed and not comfortable. By eating slower, you give yourself some time to feel the contents and to stop at a comfortable amount. When you eat slower, you enjoy the taste of the food more. By making yourself chew more deliberately, you get every bit of flavor from the food. You are only allowed a certain number of calories a day; you want to enjoy every one of them. When you eat slowly, you really taste the food.

Eating slower also helps you digest better. We have teeth for a reason. The smaller the food is the easier it is for your stomach to continue the digestive process. Additionally, the digestion of starches starts in the mouth. You need to give your saliva some time to begin breaking down the starch. The less the stomach has to do the happier it will feel.

I have tried to teach myself to eat slower for years and I finally have hit on the one thing that seems to be working---putting the fork down between bites. If I keep the fork in my hand, I shovel food in mindlessly. By literally setting the fork down on the plate, I remind myself to chew. I do not pick the fork up again until my mouth is empty. This is not as easy as it sounds. I have to constantly remind myself to put the fork down and not touch it until my mouth is empty. It is working, however, I am enjoying my food more and I believe I am eating less. There now have been a few occasions when my husband was done before I was; that was sweet.

Cooking is easier than you think and you and your family are worth the time and effort it takes.

Simple cooking idea: It is not necessary to peel carrots, just scrub them.

Copyright ©2010 by Gigi Centaro. All Rights Reserved.