I won’t even say I’ve been accused of, I know I have always been a fast eater. I’d always be the first to finish eating at the dinner table as a kid, I’d always be the first to finish when I was at a restaurant with friends in my teenage years, the first to finish their plate of food at a wedding, the first to be on their 3rd slice of takeaway pizza, the list is endless. Not to mention, the comments of surprise by many; ‘wow, you ate that fast,’ ‘Tash, it’s not going to disappear off your plate’, ‘You’ve finished already?’ I even remember being as young as 13 and timing myself 20 minutes to eat each meal because of these comments. That is how aware of it I was and I certainly reflected on what people said. I’m glad to say they were made. Needless to say, eating this fast is not good. For me, eating this quickly ensured a higher chance of overeating because my brain was not registering I was full, not to mention how bad it was for my indigestion. But how fast is too fast? Well, me being able to finish a plate of food in 4-5 minutes is certainly too fast.
CHILDHOOD EATING
I’m glad that I have fond memories of eating as a nuclear family before my parents divorced. Being Greek, food is inevitably a big part of our culture and eating together meant spending quality time together as a family unit. I remember my job was always to lay the table and me, Anton, my mum and Dad would habitually sit in the same seats, while discussing all matter of things. I remember my Mum and Dad drilling into me the importance of eating together as a family as a way of communicating and enjoying our time together while they would ask us all matter of questions about our school day and homework. Despite participating in these conversations, I would somehow make it onto my 2ndor 3rd bowl of pasta, whilst everyone else was finishing plate number 1. Ooops.
WHY DO PEOPLE EAT QUICKLY?
Undoubtedly, if you are a fast eater, you are more likely to overeat and more likely to gain weight, yet why do so many people do it? Maybe because everyone nowadays is in a hurry, we live busy lives with hectic schedules and everything seems to run at 100 miles an hour. Think about it, everything is INSTANT in today’s world. Want to watch a video? One button and you’re on Youtube. Want to make a bank transaction? One fingerprint on your phone and you’ve arrived at your bank. Want a takeaway? One button on Deliveroo and it arrives within the hour. Everything is instant and as a nation, our patience is non-existence. In fact, waiting for anything now would seem out of the ordinary and a headache, something that just shouldn’t be occurring in the 21st century. So how is eating any different? Well, mindless eating is also very common. Eating at desks, in a time constrained lunch break or a spare 5 minute window is nearly always a necessity. I mean, how many of you eat whilst doing work at your laptop since Covid and even now if you still work from home? Think about it, how often do you just sit and eat without doing anything else? Without flicking on your phone, without typing away at your laptop, without watching TV? Nearly never I suppose.
WHY IS IT NOT THE BEST IDEA?
The fact is, your brain does need time to process it is full and usually this is 20 minutes. A study was conducted where men and women were studied to see the effects of speedy eating. Undoubtedly, those who ate too fast would continue eating until they were full and were more likely to be overweight than people who didn’t. Fast eaters gained more acid reflux. If you are a slower eater, chewing your food more times than fast eaters meant they wouldn’t eat as much. Remember, chewing your food helps to digest your food more as your saliva has enzymes that lubricate and start digesting what you’re eating. Also, eating too fast does take the pleasure out of eating because you’re sad it’s gone too quickly-this has happened to me too many times!
Eating too quickly leads to obesity simply because you’re able to eat more due to the shorter space of time. It also disrupts your hunger hormones that tell you when you are satiated. It also gives you an extra nudge in the direction of diabetes because you’re able to consume so much more than someone who takes 20-25minutes. After another study was done in Korea, fast eating was linked with Gastritis (inflammation that eats away at the stomach) causing shallow breaks and even ulcers in the tummy. Overeating means more food sits in your stomach which then means the stomach lining is more exposed to gastric acid. Not comfortable.
TIPS TO SLOW DOWN
If you’re like me and have recognised this is part of your food problems then just be more aware. These are a few things to consider when you eat your next meal:
Time: Time yourself, see how long it takes you to eat a plate of food. Try and long it out to 20 minutes
Aware of senses: This sounds strange but really pay attention to the different flavours of your plate. Once, I ate my breakfast so slow, I even tasted the garlic granules on my eggs. Comprehend the miraculous flavours with each bite.
More chews: Avoid 4 big chews and rush to swallow. Try and chew your spoonful at least 10-15 times before you swallow. And chew slowly!
Put down the damn fork: Every couple of minutes put down your cutlery and take a sip of water. Regular pauses helps long out the meal.
Table talk: When pausing, talk to your company. I am a chatter box anyway but noticeably I’m not the first to finish when I’m retelling an event or story. Avoid putting the food on the pedestal but rather focus on the company you’re keeping, NOT on the food and be fully present.
Avoid a second plateful unless your really need it: Remember you’re not going to nail this straightaway. If you finish your plate in under 20minutes, wait another 20 minutes to see if you’re genuinely hungry. Drink lots of liquid while you wait. Then, if after 20minutes you’re still hungry, then have a bit more. It is so important to listen to your hunger signals.
Do you want to start changing your eating habits?
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