Anyone remember this iconic Alka-seltzer commercial from the 80’s?  

The refrain “I can’t believe I ate the whole thing” was at its core messaging.  

Why do we, in fact, eat the whole thing, maybe even when we stopped getting pleasure from it, and most certainly even when we knew we were full?

Understandably, this commercial resonated with people.  Most of us have had the experience of eating too much of something and not realizing how it would affect us, until it’s too late.  Or maybe you know exactly how it will affect you, but in the moment you just don’t care.

OK, so maybe Alka-seltzer is a short-term solution to digestive malaise from overeating, but what can be a long-term solution that also positively affects your eating experience and ability to know instinctively when to stop eating?

Eating slowly…..

Reason #1 why eat slowly:

The Cephalic Phase of Digestion:

Have you ever walked by a bakery and realized your stomach started growling or that you spontaneously started salivating from the delicious aromas? This nascent stage of digestion is called the "Cephalic Phase of Digestion".

These are the processes by which your body begins to prepare for the digestion of food before you even take a single bite. Many times we override this important phase of digestion by digging fast and furious into our meals or snacks and bypassing the cephalic phase.

Your sense of smell can play a big role in digestion. It can alert your brain that something pleasant and nutritious is coming, and as a result, will start secreting those digestive juices in preparation.

It's often said that we eat with our eyes before we eat with our mouths, and this is true. Merely looking at delicious food can start the digestive processes.

Each of us has salivary glands that secrete enzymes when we're chewing, that help us break down and masticate our food. These enzymes are important in order to prepare food for its journey down the digestive tract. When we eat fast or in a distracted way, we cut off this important prep step, and it makes it more likely for us to swallow large pieces of food, prevent proper assimilation of the nutrients and increase the chances of reflux and other forms of GI distress.

Reason #2 

Pleasure principle:

We have a very conflicted relationship with pleasure.

On the one hand, we love to experience it and feel it in abundance, but we also get mixed messages from society or perhaps even from our beliefs that too much pleasure is not good or is shameful. Pleasure with respect to food is especially conflicting for us for a number of reasons. Just think of all the words that are negatively associated with pleasure in food: indulgent, hedonistic, gluttonous, (these are just a few). We also worry about the consequences of truly enjoying our food. We believe that if we enjoy it, we’ll be punished by  gaining weight, experiencing malaise, or to endure judgement by others. So every time you try to savor and truly enjoy that piece of cake or chocolate, conflicting and competing feelings get in the way of it being a pure and uncomplicated experience of pleasure.

Our brains need awareness and pleasure in order to get the message, and then clearly communicate this to us as to when to stop eating.

Try this exercise:

Enjoy a small piece of your favorite food, with full permission to enjoy and savor. What is it like for you?

Reason # 3

Sensory-specific satiety :

Sensory- Specific Satiety is the sensory experience of decreasing satisfaction with the same type of food. Our taste buds will often become saturated with flavor very quickly and we might continue to eat with the false hope that we can re-activate that powerful flavor bomb we experienced in the first few bites. Yet, once saturated, there needs to be a refractory period before our taste buds will activate again.

One of the reasons buffets are so popular, and that individuals will eat more than normal at them is the variety of items with varying flavor profiles. Once we become saturated with one type of food, we attempt to get the flavor "high" with another type of food, be it a dessert, something spicy or even from a bitter component.

"A study conducted by Rolls and van Duijvenvoorde in 1984, verified this process by simulating a buffet-style meal. They fed participants four meals that included sausages, bread and butter, chocolate dessert, and bananas. They then fed the participants four courses of one of these foods. The results revealed a 44% increase in overall food consumption when exposed to the meals with a variety of foods.[1]"

This is yet another reason to slow down, notice the flavors on your tongue and appreciate them with awareness because the excitement of those first few bites will diminish with each additional attempt to achieve that same "high."

Reason #4

Better digestion and absorption of nutrients:

Your body cannot efficiently digest and assimilate food when it is rushed or in a low-level stress response.

Results can include: indigestion, acid reflux, increase in stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline which signal the brain to slow down digestion, increased fat storage and slow-down building of muscle tissue. 

Reason # 5

Helps temper overeating:

Eating fast overrides your body’s innate knowledge of when it is full.

It takes 20 minutes for your brain to get the message that it has had enough to eat.

When you rush through a meal, you are much more likely to overeat before that message is heard which can lead to overeating.

Ok, have I convinced you to eat a bit more slowly now? I hope so!

Start by just noticing your pace and ask yourself. “Am I in a rush right now? Or can I just settle in and enjoy?” Then, pay attention to how long you are chewing before you swallow. Try to double the amount of chews per bite. Finally, take 3 mindful breaks during your meal. Check in to determine how full you are and which parts of the meal you are enjoying.

One mantra that has always helped me to slow down and relax while eating is this: “I am not in a rush. There is no where I need to be right now. My only job right now is to nourish myself and enjoy my meal.”

Let me know if you try any of these ideas and comment below on your experience.

To learn more about mindful eating and how I can support you with food, nutrition and your eating psychology, book a free call with me to connect.