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Comments on: Take Smaller Bites and Enjoy Them Longer to Lose Weight? http://advancedmediterraneandiet.com/blog/2009/08/08/take-smaller-bites-and-enjoy-them-longer-to-lose-weight/ Ruminations on Weight Loss, Health, and Longevity Via the Mediterranean Diet Fri, 18 May 2012 08:25:41 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.1.3 By: T.W. Anderson http://advancedmediterraneandiet.com/blog/2009/08/08/take-smaller-bites-and-enjoy-them-longer-to-lose-weight/#comment-13012 T.W. Anderson Tue, 11 Aug 2009 08:44:31 +0000 http://advancedmediterraneandiet.com/blog/2009/08/08/take-smaller-bites-and-enjoy-them-longer-to-lose-weight/#comment-13012 Interesting study. I know the portion size is absolutely true, and I think this above study might have something to do with the fact that rather than the length of time in the mouth being a factor, it might simply be due to the amount of time between swallows, which allows your brain time to recognize that your stomach has something in it, thus shutting down the "I'm hungry" sensors that tell you to keep shoving stuff in. A big problem most Americans/Westerners have is this "fast-food" mentality, not just in the sense of greasy fast-food, but in the sense that everything has to be rushed. Back in the States I can't think of a time we spent more than an hour, or hour and a half, in a restaurant. In fact, I've actually been asked to leave Olive Garden and Outback restaurants over the years because "there are paying customers who need a table", and we were "taking too long" to enjoy our time out of the house. As a result, most people have this mentality that they have to eat fast, which means your body isn't given enough time to register that you are actually full. Instead, you cram as much in as you can in a short amount of time because you are on a limited time. Here, for example, you can't go to a restaurant for less than three hours. I've noticed a significant change in my diet as a direct result. When you go out to eat you start with a salad, and that salad takes you an hour to eat, and you stay full from it because your brain has time to register that your stomach has food in it. If we go out to restaurants anymore I rarely eat more than a salad and some cheese with a few glasses of wine because by the time the main course gets to us, I'm already full from the smaller portions I've been nibbling on up until that point. Personally, I think this study has less to do with the time it takes to chew your food, and more to do with the fact that by eating slowly you are giving your stomach and brain time to realize that you actually just ate something, and gives your body time to switch off those sensors which tell you to "cram it all in" within a certain amount of time. People need to slow down, eat smaller portions, and give their body time to realize that it's been fed, rather than just cramming a 1500 calorie meal down their throats before their body has a chance to realize that it didn't need much more than a few mouthfuls to be satiated. Interesting study.

I know the portion size is absolutely true, and I think this above study might have something to do with the fact that rather than the length of time in the mouth being a factor, it might simply be due to the amount of time between swallows, which allows your brain time to recognize that your stomach has something in it, thus shutting down the “I’m hungry” sensors that tell you to keep shoving stuff in.

A big problem most Americans/Westerners have is this “fast-food” mentality, not just in the sense of greasy fast-food, but in the sense that everything has to be rushed. Back in the States I can’t think of a time we spent more than an hour, or hour and a half, in a restaurant. In fact, I’ve actually been asked to leave Olive Garden and Outback restaurants over the years because “there are paying customers who need a table”, and we were “taking too long” to enjoy our time out of the house.

As a result, most people have this mentality that they have to eat fast, which means your body isn’t given enough time to register that you are actually full. Instead, you cram as much in as you can in a short amount of time because you are on a limited time.

Here, for example, you can’t go to a restaurant for less than three hours. I’ve noticed a significant change in my diet as a direct result. When you go out to eat you start with a salad, and that salad takes you an hour to eat, and you stay full from it because your brain has time to register that your stomach has food in it. If we go out to restaurants anymore I rarely eat more than a salad and some cheese with a few glasses of wine because by the time the main course gets to us, I’m already full from the smaller portions I’ve been nibbling on up until that point.

Personally, I think this study has less to do with the time it takes to chew your food, and more to do with the fact that by eating slowly you are giving your stomach and brain time to realize that you actually just ate something, and gives your body time to switch off those sensors which tell you to “cram it all in” within a certain amount of time.

People need to slow down, eat smaller portions, and give their body time to realize that it’s been fed, rather than just cramming a 1500 calorie meal down their throats before their body has a chance to realize that it didn’t need much more than a few mouthfuls to be satiated.

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