Enjoying Your Food: 3 Ways to Feel Satisfied While Dieting

Are you one of those people who gobbles down your food so quickly that you barely taste it?  If so, you may want to rethink that habit if you want to lose weight and keep it off.  Eating too fast is one of the major causes for overeating, for two reasons.  First, if you eat so fast that you barely taste the food, you won’t feel satisfied and you will keep craving more.  Secondly, eating too quickly doesn’t allow time for your body to signal that it has had enough food, so you feel compelled to keep eating.

Below are three good ways to change the habit of eating too quickly: 1)  Add lots of flavor

It’s helpful if the foods you eat actually taste good to begin with.  Too many dieters believe that they must exist on boring lettuce salads and give up any food that tastes good.  Good flavor doesn’t have to be synonymous with high-calorie!  There are endless varieties of delicious foods that are also nutritious and perfectly suited to a weight loss plan.  Even for bland foods you can use herbs and natural seasonings to add flavor.  Good choices include lemon, garlic, pepper, dill, vinegar, onion, mustard, and ginger.

2)  Savor every bite

Before you even begin eating your meal, take a moment to notice how good it looks on the plate.  If you prepare your own meals, try to include a colorful array of foods that include some red, yellow, and bright green choices.  This makes the meal look more appetizing.  Next, smell the food and let the delicious aroma stimulate your appetite even more.  Imagine how good that first bite is going to taste.

See: 4 Easy Ways to Make “Eating Healthy” Taste Good

When you take your first bite, make it a small bite so you can roll it around on your tongue and chew it easily.  Take your time chewing, tasting the food and enjoying it fully before swallowing.  Pause for a moment or two between bites, even placing your fork on your plate and taking a sip or two of water before picking up your fork again.

See: Why Eating Slower Helps You Lose Weight

3)  Minimize distractions If possible, shut off the television and remove distracting items from the dinner table (you are eating at a table, not slumped on the sofa, right?).  Do your best to minimize distractions and focus on your food as much as possible.  This is important because if you focus mostly on the television, newspaper, novel, or conversation with your dining companions, you won’t really be savoring your meal, which means you may not feel as satisfied after you finish eating - or worse, you will eat more than your body requires to feel satisfied.

See: Break the Habit of Eating While Doing Other Activities

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