After seven weeks, I’ve lost 21.6 lbs and am down to 220.4 – I lost 1.0 lbs this week.
Anyone who has eaten with me knows that I am a fast eater. One summer day, the office I worked at on Michigan Avenue walked to Su Casa Mexican Restaurant for lunch. For me, that means 3 beef enchiladas with no beans & extra rice (mmmmm….enchilaaaadaaaas!). So, everyone at the table orders and 5-10 minutes later, the servers come with the food. I was seated across from the office VP, who was having a conversation with a sales person. When my food was set in front of me, I immediately began cutting the enchiladas into pieces. Then, I went to work scooping enchiladas and alternately, rice down my gullet. I cleared the plate in less than 5 minutes, right at the time the VP was about to start eating. She look across at my plate incredulously, perhaps thinking she waited longer than she thought to eat, but when she saw that everyone else was just starting, she realized I was a freak.
So, I do not have a history of eating slow to enjoy and savor my food, just eating MORE to enjoy my food. Studies say that when you start eating, there’s a clock in your body that regulates how fast you feel “full”. the slower you eat, the quicker you feel full so the less you eat. Fast eaters can gain weight easier because they eat to “over-full”. I liken it to drinking table wine at a wedding reception. If you drink too fast, you don’t start feeling the effects until the 3rd or 4th glass, and by then you may have over-indulged.
Anyway, eating slow was never my thing. it is now – it HAS TO be now.
When the portions are small, eating fast is not helpful. I am finding myself trying to savor every bite as I eat at a slow pace. It really does help.
That said, next time I do go out for enchiladas, I know the Kobayashi in me will come out again!