Try This Tuesday: Chew Your Food

This might sound ridiculous, but I am actually quite serious. So many of us are barely aware of how we actually eat. Bad habits abound when it comes to our mealtime rituals: eating while in the car or while watching TV; “loading up” our utensils before we’re actually done chewing and swallowing what is already in our mouths; and eating food we don’t even know if we are enjoying, are just a few examples of these bad habits.

Despite not actually being a “weight-loss” coach, in addition to wanting to learn and adopt positive eating habits, a lot of my clients also have goals to lose some weight. The interesting thing is that healthy eating habits often result in weight loss for people, as they exchange their bad habits for good ones. (A great read on this exact subject is a book is called “Foodist: Using Real Food and Real Science to Lose Weight Without Dieting” by Darya Rose)

Here’s an example of why…most people aren’t actually chewing their food nearly as much as they should be! Did you know that chewing your food properly may help you lose weight (and be healthier?). A lot of people are eating in such stressed and hurried states (another problem) that chewing is the least of their concerns.  But if you’re serious about your weight, your health, and your overall enjoyment of food, you need to slow down and chew properly.

Guess how many times you should chew each bite of food (on average)? The answer is 32, but of course, this totally depends upon things like the size of the mouthful and the type of food.

Chewing more falls under the umbrella of basically being more aware of what and how you are eating – which is what I work with my clients on. If you’d like to learn more about how we do this, please send me a message!

Photo Credit: @creativeexchange