Feature: Healthy Lifestyles

Eat Slowly, Lose Weight Faster

Author: John Phillip
Published: August 03, 2010 at 8:59 am
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Many people race through the day, eating as though they were on a dietary rollercoaster. Eating on the run may be hazardous to your health, as food choices may be limited to high calorie, processed foods which work against your natural hormone balancing system to regulate appetite. Your brain doesn’t have enough time to react to the calorie load in the food you just ate, and you overeat.

Eating is Evolutionary
The body has evolved a very intricate hormonal balancing system which signals when to eat and when you’ve had enough. Eating too quickly, especially when consuming a calorically packed junk food diet, dampens the signal to stop eating.

According to a study published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, the digestive hormone leptin signals the brain when it’s time to put down the knife and fork, but only if the meal lasts for at least 30 minutes.

Eat in Accordance With Your Hormones
Meals today are typically eaten in a matter of minutes, rarely coming close to the half hour needed to benefit from your natural leptin signal. People who are naturally thin take much longer to eat a meal than their overweight or obese counterparts. It’s more than likely that they stretch out the time it takes to complete a meal without a second thought.

Take Control of Your Hunger Hormones
Naturally thin people also tend to eat healthier and exercise more. They stay away from fast foods and highly refined, processed fare, and are more active in their lifestyle. This is evolved behavior, and researchers have noticed that it tends to run in families.

As more is learned about these powerful dietary hormones, we know leptin supply isn’t the problem, but rather it becomes dysfunctional and doesn’t transmit the satiety signal to the brain properly. Fortunately, it’s possible to reverse leptin resistance and allow for natural fat release and weight loss.

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Article Author: John Phillip

John Phillip is a Diet, Health and Nutrition Researcher/Writer reporting on the cutting edge use of lifestyle modifications to enhance and improve the length and quality of life. John is the author of 'Your Healthy Weight Loss Plan', a Free E-Book available for download from his blog. …

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