How to Eat Slowly to Balance your Diet

As my blog suggests, I’m a picky eater 🙂 And I think being picky about the things I put in my body has really helped me to stay healthy overall and maintain a healthy weight. So – I’ve been thinking of starting a “how to be a picky eater” series on my blog. It’ll be just quick tips and hints around incorporating the “picky eater mentality” into your life – things that have helped me in my quest to stay healthy! Today I am sharing tips with you on how to eat slowly to balance your diet and nutrition!

One thing I’ve noticed about myself is that I tend to eat slower than most people. I like to take 30 min-1 hour to enjoy, taste, savor my food. Even if I’m starving, I try not to inhale my food. I like to feel the flavors in my mouth and be mindful of what I’m eating. All of this contributes to eating slower and making the meal an “event” in my day.

For years, I’ve heard that eating slower helps people to consume fewer calories, but today I decided to do a bit of online research to see if there was any proof out there. And there was!

Reuters posted an article about the correlation between “slow eating” and a smaller calorie intake.

And in 2006, a study was conducted by researchers at the University of Rhode Island that came to the same conclusion – slower eating = fewer consumption of calories!

So what’s the moral of the story? Slowing down while eating can, in fact, help you lose weight! But how do we do this?

Here are a few tips on how to eat slowly, slow down and enjoy your food and become a picky eater!

1) Look at your food.

One of the best ways to become a picky eater is to look at your food! Ever notice how when kids eat food, they look at it, examine it and then taste it? Kids are often called “picky eaters” because of that. But that’s not such a bad habit, as long as you don’t make faces at your food or examine it for hours without eating it 😛

2) When you want to be a picky eater think of your meal as an event.

Think as your meal as an event, not just something to get through. Food is so yummy! You should enjoy every moment you’re eating, it shouldn’t be a task on your “to-do” list. Even if you only have 20 min to eat, don’t scarf down your whole meal in that time if you don’t feel like it. Eat as much as you can, savor it, and save the rest for another 10-20 min break you’ll get later.

3) Be present.

If you are really looking for how to eat slowly one of the best ways is to be present. This goes to the “don’t inhale your food” subject. If you’re mindful of what you’re eating, how much you’re eating, and how fast you’re eating, the whole experience will be more enjoyable and you won’t polish off 4 chocolate chip cookies without noticing.

There you have it! how to eat slowly to balance your diet!

How does being a picky eater help you balance your diet/nutrition better?