Most people tend to eat too fast, be that due to a rushed lifestyle or because we are distracted. Eating too fast can cause poor digestion and contributes to overeating, as it is easy to overeat when we are not eating mindfully.
It takes approximately 20 minutes from the time you start eating for the brain to send out signals that you are full. When we feel full, we no longer feel like eating. There may be a reason why the French – anecdotally slim – say “je n’ai plus faim” (I am no longer hungry), rather than saying “I am full”. Eating until you are full might mean you are eating too much already.
When your hunger is satisfied you will not feel the urge to eat more than you need. So-called “slow eating” or mindful eating has become trendy in recent years. It promotes eating slowly, and without distraction. Paying attention to your meal makes it more enjoyable too, as you get to really appreciate the sensation of eating, and savour all the flavours.
Often we may eat while distracted. Watching TV, scrolling social media, eating while working, reading a book, even. All these things stop us from focusing on our meal and drive our attention elsewhere. When distracted, we will usually end up eating faster than we otherwise would. This is how we easily end up eating more than we need, too.
It might be worth aiming to eat slower and with thought, whether it is for 20 minutes or not.
To eat mindfully, make sure to relax while eating, put aside distractions. Enjoy the food peacefully. Do not take very large bites. Chew carefully.
Chewing the food is important for slow eating, and when we chew our food well, our digestive system thanks us too for a job well done. You don’t need to be ridiculous about the slowness of your chewing. When you are first starting on the path of mindful eating, though, it is worth paying attention to your chewing as a reminder not to wolf everything down straight away. Enjoy the flavours of the dish. Savour it.
If you eat with thought on a regular basis, you may find that you are not so controlled by your hunger anymore. You learn to recognise your hunger signals and what and how much is needed to satisfy them.
Raw Rebellion 
The concept of slow or mindful eating makes a lot of sense to me. It would be a helpful approach to avoid overeating. Just have to try to enforce this approach in everyday life. Thank you for the enlightening article!
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