“How you eat is sometimes more important than what you eat.” Interesting quote, huh? Not sure who said it but I have found it to be true. We are used to being told what to eat, which is also very important. But, have you ever eaten healthy and either still gain weight or still feel miserable at the end of the meal? It’s not always what you eat, but HOW you eat.
Consider these things that matter when you eat…
~Your thoughts~Your Emotional State~Your Stress Level~Your Attention to Your Meal
FACT: Accumulation of belly fat typically is caused by chronic stress. It’s really hard for the body to lose weight while under stress.
The 20-minute meal is a means of eating slowly. Although savoring the food is a wonderful benefit that makes meals more enjoyable, it’s not the main benefit. The idea here is to relax. Why relax? When we are relaxed before and while eating, our parasympathetic nervous system is activated. Simply put, the reason eating slowly is ideal because it is an avenue of reducing stress in the body.
20-Minute Meal How-To
Step 1: The Initiation
- Check the time before starting your meal.
- Eat your meal at your normal pace.
- Check the time after finishing your meal.
- Write down the amount of time your meal took.
Step 2: The Experiment
- Increase your next meal to 5 minutes more than the original time (if the first meal took 5 min, take 10 min on this one).
- Write down the meal amount time, when you started to feel full (ex. at 7 minutes), your mood (how you feel that day), and your "aha." You could make a table (see pic below for an idea ).
| Day | Meal Minutes | I Felt Satisfied at ____Minutes | My Mood Today | My "aha" Moment Today |
|---|
Step 3: The Continuation
- Continue to repeat step 2 with every meal until you reach 20 minutes or more
- Continue to keep track by writing step 2, part 2 each day. The goal is to try it as a 7 day experiment.
Continuing the 20-Minute Meal Day to Day
I’m hoping that you find the 20-minute meal experiment to be a valuable experience. When you complete it for 7 days, I encourage you to implement this eating method in your everyday life. Notice, it does not require you to change any contents of what you eat. You can still go to those dinner parties and fun outings with your friends. You can still fully enjoy your vacation without having to be “diet” conscience. You don’t have to restrict what you eat in this process. You just simply need a source to keep up with the time and a means to track your experience. Tracking your experience is a powerful tool that will likely keep you invested in making this change.
Leave a comment below to let me know if you plan on trying this experiment or tell me how it’s going for you!