To lose weight you need to consume fewer calories than you burn. Easy to say. Hard to do. But eating less food may be easier if you follow one simple little trick: Eat slowly. Eating slowly and savoring the meal — even if it’s just a turkey sandwich eaten at your desk — appears to encode the food on your memory. And that helps to reduce your hunger later, Men’s Health reports of research from the University of Birmingham in England. Translation: Take your time eating that turkey sandwich at noon, and you may not crave a candy bar at 3pm. The magazine offers five tips to help you eat more slowly:
- Relax and de-stress before you eat a meal. To do this, close your eyes and remember a happy moment, a vacation or a soothing song.
- Pay particular attention to savoring the first three bites of food. Analyze the texture and taste. This helps trick your mind into thinking you are fuller.
- Sip water between each bite of food.
- Place your fork or spoon in your non-dominant hand. That is, if you’re right-handed, eat with your left hand. This will force you to be more deliberate with each bite.
Avoid drinking soda or any beverage that contains high fructose corn syrup. Instead, drink iced black tea.