Alright, alright.. The time has come!
Class starts this week!
*|FNAME|*, I am so proud of you for making this commitment and already completing the hardest part of any transformation, GETTING STARTED!
By now, hopefully you have scheduled the time in your calendar for this class. If not, no worries.. Let’s get started with it now. Just whip out that phone (or click out of this and into your calendar app) and type it in! This is our first task. And your scheduling skills will come in handy later in this program.
Now, let’s build on that.
The first habit to conquer in order to establish a platform for healthy choices and a healthy body is… Eat Slowly!
Let’s begin to bring our focus solely on eating slowly.
For now, this is all that matters.
Forget everything you know about “good vs bad” nutrition. Place no rules or restrictions on your diet other than practicing slow eating.
Eat slowly? That’s so basic. How could that work?
It does. Trust us.
When you can master slow eating, you can master potentially every other nutritional change. Yes, this habit is that awesome.
In today’s “on the go” world, many of us eat too quickly and end up ingesting way more calories than necessary. This has a HUGE impact on weight gain and is often times something we don’t even notice!
It takes about 20 minutes for our satiety mechanisms to kick in. In other words, the communication between our gut, to our brain, and back to our gut is slow. So before we realize that we are full, we are completely (unbutton the pants) stuffed!
Slow eating asks you to check in. Become present. Pay attention. Sense in. For most people, this simple shift in attention has profound effects.
Slow eating tunes you in to your physical hunger/satiety cues. Slow eating gives the satiety signals (such as CCK release) time to catch up. And it helps you become aware of their effects. People will often eat less without even realizing it.
Slow eating creates awareness of food smells, tastes and textures.
You might instinctively move towards healthier choices, which taste better when eaten more slowly. Junk food, on the other hand, often tastes worse when eaten slowly. (Try sucking on a Dorito for a minute, and you’ll see what we mean.)
There’s also strong evidence that we need to experience the scent of our food, especially retro-nasally (up the back of our throat into our nasal passages), to be satiated. Thus chewing and tasting the food is essential.
Slow eating enhances digestion.
Salivary enzymes such as amylase and lipase, in tandem with the mechanical work of chewing, begin to break the food down before it hits our stomach… for which our stomach is profoundly grateful.
Slow eating counteracts feelings of deprivation and restriction that might prompt you to binge or rebel.
If you are a compulsive over-eater, you have full “permission” to binge… as long as you do it slowly.
The only exception to this rule is for people who need to gain weight and/or muscle mass or athletes who need to support a high training load (and thus need to get a lot of calories down).
If you struggle with this try a simple timer to track your meal time, or an app such as SlowMow.
Obviously, just because I have suggested this practice does not mean that now you will begin eating every single meal perfectly slow with the snap of my fingers.
Just like any skill, this is much more difficult than you might imagine. But the good news is that the more you practice, the better you will get. And eventually, this will become automatic.
If you are open to the idea, then at least try this at one meal between now and class. Then we can talk about it. See how it went, and make adjustments if necessary.
The best way that I have found to practice this habit is to put the fork (or taco, sandwich, piece of pizza, etc..) down after every bite and not pick it back up until you have completely swallowed. Other good ideas are taking a drink of water between bites, chatting with your dining partner, turning off the TV, and eliminating distractions.
This habit may seem very simple. But do not be deceived.. Simple does not mean “easy.” This can be a very challenging habit to master. But, if you are patient and consistent you will be victorious!
Often times this is the only habit people need in order to achieve their weight loss goals. No joke!! Eat what you want, when you want. Just eat it slow until satisfied!
If you are still hungry 20-30 minutes later, go back for some more! But again, eat slowly, take smaller bites and chew the food completely and taste it! Food is beautiful and meant to be good for us, not the enemy.
I have attached a food log that you can print off and use to help bring awareness and track whether or not you applied this habit.
Don't worry, you do not have to turn this in. Just be honest with yourself and place no judgement on your food selections. I don't care if its fast food and ice cream every day. We just want you to be mindful about what you are putting in your body and giving your best shot at eating slowly.
You’ve got this. We are so excited to see your transformation.
Thank you for allowing us to be a part of your journey.