Mom's right: Eat slowly, take tips for weight loss
ATLANTA -- Think you need to ban certain high fat and sugary foods from your life to avoid weight gain? Not so fast. Maybe it's not what you're eating but how you're eating.
Mom's advice to slow down, take smaller bites, chew your food and stop gulping has gained more scientific support. A recent study at the University of Rhode Island found that women consumed 70 fewer calories a meal and were more satisfied when they ate more slowly.
Nutrition researchers who reported their findings in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association theorize the leisurely pace gives the body's natural signals of fullness time to kick in triggered by stomach distention and several appetite-related hormones.
Whether your meal is a race or a ritual is just one facet of eating behavior that might affect food consumption. Here are some other ways how you eat may affect your weight.
Mindless munching: You can lose track of how many you gobbled when you eat directly out of a bag of chips or package of cookies. Same with nuts. Enjoy a handful, not a can full.
When dining at a Mexican place, count out three or four tortilla chips and place on your side plate for better chip control. Use the same tactic with the restaurant bread basket.
Overaccessorizing: Whether it's a salad or a steak dinner, often it's the add-ons that pile on the pounds. Limit the fried croutons, bacon bits, blue cheese crumbles and creamy dressing on salads. Enjoy a small steak without the gravy boat filled with Bearnaise sauce or onion rings on the side.
Super-sizing snacks: Enjoying a cup of creamy cold lemon gelato during an afternoon stroll is OK. Wolfing down a giant triple scoop bowl of ice cream with chocolate and chunks of candy on top is not. Same goes for chips, cookies and crackers.
Silly splurging: Be smart about eating splurge foods you crave, whether it's chocolate brownies, french fries or lasagna. Realize you love these foods and allow yourself to enjoy them in sensible portions.
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