Eating quickly/slowly?

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This may seem like an odd question, but i always heard 'eating quick makes you fat'. Now i'm sure there's no real truth to it, but it got me wondering if eating slowly actually is beneficial for you? It stands to reason that it helps with digestion perhaps?

These days i force myself to eat slowly simply because i want to enjoy the food i put on my plate, but would scoffing the plate down change anything? :huh:

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  • lvtruu1
    lvtruu1 Posts: 211 Member
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    Eating slowly may make you feel full sooner making you eat less.

    Calories are calories. It makes little difference to your body if you eat those calories quickly or slowly.

    The same 500 calorie meal eaten in 2 minutes is the same 500 calorie meal eaten over an hour.
  • jcfromtb
    jcfromtb Posts: 15 Member
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    This may be a crude comparison for some, but read through some of the recounts of prisoners during the holocaust. Those who rigorously chewed their food generally survived longer than those who inhaled food when it was available.

    Typically, if you chew your food thoroughly, you absorb more of the nutrients into your body. I force myself to put down my fork/spoon/food after every bite as a way to slow down and chew thoroughly.
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
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    This may seem like an odd question, but i always heard 'eating quick makes you fat'. Now i'm sure there's no real truth to it, but it got me wondering if eating slowly actually is beneficial for you? It stands to reason that it helps with digestion perhaps?

    These days i force myself to eat slowly simply because i want to enjoy the food i put on my plate, but would scoffing the plate down change anything? :huh:

    Doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things
  • NataBee
    NataBee Posts: 57 Member
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    Eating slowly may make you feel full sooner making you eat less.

    Calories are calories. It makes little difference to your body if you eat those calories quickly or slowly.

    The same 500 calorie meal eaten in 2 minutes is the same 500 calorie meal eaten over an hour.

    Makes sense i guess :smile:
  • tigerlily8045
    tigerlily8045 Posts: 415 Member
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    i guess it depends on if you are eating a measured portion or just going until you feel full. I can suck up some food in no time at all. I would probably eat double/triple my allotted calories if it wasn't portioned due to how fast i eat and my stomach giving me the stop signal.
  • Arianwyn_T
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    Eating slowly may make you feel full sooner making you eat less.

    Calories are calories. It makes little difference to your body if you eat those calories quickly or slowly.

    The same 500 calorie meal eaten in 2 minutes is the same 500 calorie meal eaten over an hour.

    That said, a lot of people (myself included) don't chew properly when they're eating quickly, which can cause digestive issues, and cheat you out of both nutrients and calories that you "ate" but which your body did not properly process.
  • caspergirl7
    caspergirl7 Posts: 590 Member
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    Its takes about 10-20 minutes for your brain to register that you are full. So eat slow = eat less & better chance you don't get that stuffed feeling from eating too much.

    read this: http://www.livestrong.com/article/480254-how-long-does-it-take-your-brain-to-register-that-the-stomach-is-full/
  • RhonndaJ
    RhonndaJ Posts: 1,615 Member
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    I've always eaten slowly.

    Clearly it had no impact on my weight gain, or loss for that matter.

    Quantity, on the other hand, is.

    I can see how slowing down would help some people who eat faster, however, as it would make them more conscious of what they're eating.
  • CristinaL1983
    CristinaL1983 Posts: 1,119 Member
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    I find that when I eat quickly, I pack in more food and end up feeling uncomfortably full. If I eat slower (or take breaks while eating) I eat less and find myself stopping at a more appropriate time (when I feel satisfied not super full).

    When I was in boot camp, we only had 10 minutes to eat each meal and that combined with the decrease in activity (for me) caused me to gain about 10 lbs over the course of 2 months. (It's still about quantity it's just easier to eat too much in shorter spans of time).
  • Tercob
    Tercob Posts: 151 Member
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    Its takes about 10-20 minutes for your brain to register that you are full. So eat slow = eat less & better chance you don't get that stuffed feeling from eating too much.

    read this: http://www.livestrong.com/article/480254-how-long-does-it-take-your-brain-to-register-that-the-stomach-is-full/

    This has always been my problem...now I portion my sizes so I only eat that even if I dont feel full at the moment but after a little time, I do feel full.