Whether you want to gain or lose weight, or radically reduce bloating and indigestion, chewing your food well can make a big difference. Here's how...
Chewing your food an extra 5, 10 or even 30 bites more will leave you fuller and more satisfied. Your body will have a much easier time absorbing and getting what it needs from the foods you eat. Think about it. If your body is better able to absorb the nutrients it needs, chances are, it simply will crave less food.
So no need to deprive and deny yourself of your favorite foods. Just chew more and let your body take care of the rest!
For those of you who try and try to gain weight (I know, this is shocking for some of you to realize) chewing well will create better assimilation of protein, fats and carbohydrates. Taking in extra calories doesn't work, if you aren't absorbing them as well as you could.
If you often find yourself craving sweets, the art of chewing your food more thoroughly brings out the natural sweet flavor in fruits, vegetables and other natural foods. It's also an easy way to STOP craving junk foods. Have you ever chewed a Big Mac or Oreo cookie really well? Not so tasty. You may have never realized this because junk food, let's face it, isn't usually consumed in a conscious manner.
The art of chewing your food is a simple one, yet few people care to do so. Why? It means we actually have to stop for a few minutes, and pay attention to what we're eating. Something inherently difficult for Americans to do. We live in an on-the-go, gotta do it all, 60+ hour work week culture. Understandably, this "busyness" is affecting our health in more ways than one. Chewing your food well is an easy tool you can apply anywhere.
A few client success stories with chewing:
- One client was shocked to find out that she no longer needed her prescription digestive pills after experimenting with chewing her food more thoroughly. What she thought was a "digestion problem" was really a "chewing problem."
- Another client lost weight just by only focusing on one thing: chewing her food better. She found she got fuller sooner and started to enjoy her meals much more since it forced her to slow down and pay attention to the people at her dinner table instead of just what was on her plate.
- Start small: chew your food an extra 5 - 10 bites. Work up to 20 -30 bites per mouthful.
- Take smaller bites... notice the flavors, textures, aromas.
- A few minutes is all you need to enjoy your food. Chewing more doesn't mean you have to sit at the table for an hour.
- Experiment with NOT multi-tasking while eating. I.E - reading or watching TV. Try this for one meal a day to start.
- Try focusing on your chewing for one meal a day.
But don't take my word for it. See for yourself and chew more.
Karin
