Natural Way to Lose Weight - Chew Slowly

Sound unbelievable? Don’t jump to conclusions. Incredible as it might seem, you can chew food and still lose weight.

Here’s how it works. If you chew food thoroughly and for a long time, you will not likely overeat, and consequently you will lose unneeded pounds. But the critical point is in food selection. That is, what choices have you made from available foods to eat?

An experiment showed that a group of individuals, half of normal weight and half overweight (obese), given the same food choices, ate about the same amount of calories. When provided with bulky foods that contained few calories, both groups ate less than 1,600 calories a day. On the other hand, when foods high in calories and low in bulk (mostly refined foods) were provided, both groups ate about 3,000 calories a day.

This seems to support an old and well-known point: you can be satisfied on fewer calories if you eat foods that contain fewer calories per weight than if you eat high-calorie foods with less bulk.

It is not clear whether it was the longer time required to chew the bulkier food or the volume (weight) of the food which induced appetite satisfaction is about the same in both normal-weight and obese individuals. Perhaps it’s not worth worrying about anyway. If it’s successful, why not use it!

There have been many studies that suggest that filling the stomach turns off the appetite. That’s why an inflated balloon inside the stomach removes the desire to eat. Bulky foods that leave the stomach slowly likewise tend to give the same fullness sensation.

That brings us back to the chewing. By prolonging the eating time (that is lengthening the interval between each mouthful of food) a person will become satisfied without eating an excess of calories. You can illustrate this yourself: stop eating even if you are still hungry. If you wait a little while until the food you have eaten can affect your appetite, you may no longer feel hungry.

Regardless of how all this all works, the lesson is ageless: if you eat foods that contain fewer calories, you can achieve satisfaction without consuming too many calories. Bulky foods generally contain fewer calories, and they act as nature’s appetite suppressors.

Refined and concentrated foods such as fats, sweets, and some starches should be avoided. A wide variety of unrefined products will supply your body with all the necessary nutrients for growth and maintenance without too many calories.