16:46:29 Welcome back to the Concierge Weight Loss Podcast. I'm Kara Hackleman, and today we're talking about something deceptively simple.
16:46:36 But wildly powerful when it comes to how you eat, how much you eat, and how satisfied you feel.
16:46:43 The topic? Slowing down. Before you roll your eyes and say, yeah, yeah, I know I should eat slower, stick with me, because I'm going to share some real stories, surprising insights, and a client exercise that totally changed the way I eat.
16:46:56 When I first started exploring the idea of eating slower, I didn't think it would make that big of a difference. I mean, I was busy.
16:47:05 Like most women, my meals often happened between appointments. In the car, standing at the kitchen counter, or watching TV. Slowing down felt impractical.
16:47:16 But here's what I noticed. When I rushed through a meal, I barely remembered eating it. I didn't even enjoy it, and most….
16:47:23 Always over 8. I would tell my husband, I didn't eat all day.
16:47:27 Clearly, I did, the scale showed that I did. I was overweight!
16:47:30 So, I started experimenting with something I now walk all my clients through.
16:47:35 It's this exercise. So, how you're gonna start, you're gonna pick a favorite food.
16:47:41 The one that feels irresistible, like you're out of control with.
16:47:44 The food you usually. Would not have if you were trying to lose weight.
16:47:50 For me, it was a dessert. Maybe it's candy, or some gooey brownies, maybe it's a cheesecake, something like that.
16:47:58 For some of my clients, it might be chips, or fresh bread with butter, or their go-to drive-thru order. So, now here's the twist. Instead of it devouring it the way you normally would, whether it's in secret, or all of it at once.
16:48:11 You take one bite. One bite! And then you slow down. Are you ready? So, I guide them through this entire experience. So, they'll get their food, they'll take a bite, and then they answer all these questions. So they write them down as I'm asking.
16:48:24 What does it smell like? So they're chewing, and they're… they're looking at it, they're smelling it. What does it smell like? They write that down. What does it look like?
16:48:33 Write that down. Is it warm or cold, melting, crunchy, flaky?
16:48:39 What does that first bite feel like on your tongue? What does it feel like on your teeth? That's a new one, right?
16:48:46 What does it feel like on your teeth? What flavors come up? Is it sweet, or salty, sour, savory?
16:48:54 Creamy, spicy, what is it? And then, what about the texture? Dense, soft, airy, crispy.
16:49:00 Crunchy. And when you swallow, can you still feel it? What does your mouth feel like? Remember your teeth? What does your teeth feel like? What is your throat? Your stomach?
16:49:10 And then we take a pause. And then we do this again, with one more bite.
16:49:15 And we answer all those questions a second time. And a lot of times, they're going to answer the same way.
16:49:21 And then maybe we do it a third time, or a fourth time, or a fifth time. And so, somewhere in there, the kicker is, after just a few.
16:49:30 Intentional slow bites, guess what? They don't want anymore. The excitement, the pull, that urge to eat all of it, it fades.
16:49:39 Those few bites, that was enough. Because their body finally had a chance to send that message.
16:49:45 I'm satisfied! I'm good! That was enough. But, when we eat fast, we override that signal. We bulldoze past satisfaction.
16:49:57 And head straight to Stuffed. We miss the chance to experience the food, and the chance to notice.
16:50:03 That we've had enough. I always say this, eating slower is not just about eating less. It's not.
16:50:10 It's about enjoying more. And yes, I'm absolutely that person who moans and groans during food when something tastes so good. Like, a closed-eyed, happy-sized, mmm, oh, yes.
16:50:23 Mmm, delicious. That kind of savoring. It turns a bite into a moment, and you start to realize, wow, that was.
16:50:32 Actually enough. I don't even want. Anymore. I don't need the rest. My son does this, too. One of his friends heard him eating, I think he said it was steak, while they were playing video games in their headset.
16:50:44 It made him so uncomfortable, he was like, hey, can you, uh, turn your microphone off while you eat?
16:50:49 So, let's go a little deeper here. When you eat fast.
16:50:53 Your brain doesn't get the time to register what's happening. Your stomach has these stretch receptors and hormones that communicate with your brain to say, hey.
16:51:03 We're filling up, but that takes about 15 to 20 minutes.
16:51:08 For that to register to your brain. So, if you finish your meal in 6 minutes flat or less.
16:51:14 Guilty, your brain hasn't caught up yet. So, you go back for more, or you finish your plate.
16:51:21 Even if you've already had enough, you might not know. I call it the accidental overeat.
16:51:26 Really, what happened was that we were in too big of a hurry.
16:51:29 And we didn't know we overate until we were already done eating, and THEN it registers, right? Then you feel it.
16:51:36 So, eating slower creates space, space to enjoy, enjoy the food, enjoy the moment, enjoy the people you might be with.
16:51:44 Space to notice. Notice…. Am I hungry? Have I had enough?
16:51:49 Do I even like this? And space to respond instead of react.
16:51:54 So, respond might be that we slow down, respond might be that we just have a bite or two, or we leave a few bites behind. It doesn't have to be.
16:52:05 Massive overhauls, just a little bit of response. And it makes such a difference.
16:52:09 Let me tell you about someone else. We… we won't even call her a name, because she's a friend. So, she felt totally out of control around chips and queso. And every time we went out.
16:52:20 She would go and have this, and she would polish off the whole basket before her meal even came.
16:52:26 So, we tried this experiment one day. We tried the eating slow experiment together. She took a chip, she dipped it.
16:52:34 Slowly. Notice the texture, the crunch, the salt, that ooey-gooey yummy of the queso, right? The temperature.
16:52:42 After the third chip, she was like, hey. I don't think I want it anymore. I think I'm done.
16:52:48 She was so shocked, not because she was trying to resist it and be good, you know, I know I'm a weight loss coach, so people think they.
16:52:54 Uh, I'm judging how they eat. But, no, it was because it didn't hold the same power for her anymore.
16:53:01 That's what slowing down does. It interrupts the autopilot. She'd never had the happen before. So, it gives you the option to choose. Do I want more? Am I still enjoying this?
16:53:14 Am I satisfied? Have I had enough? And those little moments of choice, that right there, that's where your power lives.
16:53:22 Let's talk about some ways to build this into your meals.
16:53:26 Here are 5 simple ways to eat slower. No distractions. You knew I was gonna say this, right?
16:53:31 Put your phone away, turn off the TV. At least for the first few bites. Get present with your food.
16:53:37 If you are eating with other people. Just start preparing your meal, look at it.
16:53:43 Zone into your food, and then you can come back to the conversation. No distractions, at least for the first few bites.
16:53:50 Forked down between bites. That'll help you slow down, right? Fork down, literally. Set it down, chew, swallow, breathe.
16:53:57 And then pick it back up again. Each time you pick it up is a decision.
16:54:02 To want more, or to have had enough. Maybe you can try to eat slower by creating that pause point that we talked about. Push half of your food to the side, or whatever portion you think.
16:54:14 And check in. Are you still feeling it? Am I still hungry? Am I still enjoying it? Ask yourself, if I stopped now, what would happen?
16:54:22 And actually answer the question. So, describe your food out loud.
16:54:26 You can do this out loud or in your head. If you're eating with someone else and you start describing your food to them, it can be a very fun game.
16:54:33 What's the texture, the taste, the temperature, the smell? This mindfulness about describing the food.
16:54:39 It increases your satisfaction. You know, like a good story, right? The more details.
16:54:45 The more of a better memory that story holds. So…. Remind yourself, I can always.
16:54:53 Just eat again later. You don't have to finish this now. You are allowed to be done.
16:54:59 And choose more later. So, this process doesn't have to take forever. It just requires presence, and I promise you this, the more practice.
16:55:07 The easier it gets. So, let's wrap up with a question. What would change if you.
16:55:13 Actually enjoyed your food more. And ate less of it.
16:55:16 That's what would happen. You would enjoy it. And eat less! This is one of the easiest ways to support your weight loss goals, without cutting anything out.
16:55:26 You don't need a special diet, and you don't need perfect willpower.
16:55:30 You don't need to track every bite. Just try slowing down.
16:55:35 If this episode hit home and you want help putting it into practice, here's where to start.
16:55:40 Watch the free webinar, CoachingCara.com forward slash sign up. I'll walk you through how real sustainable weight loss works, what it looks like.
16:55:49 Or, go ahead and book a free call with me. Coachingcara.com forward slash free call. We'll talk about your routines, what's getting in your way, and how to create a plan that actually works for you.
16:56:01 And your life. You're not doing it wrong. You've just been….
16:56:05 Shown how to do it. You've never been shown how to do it differently. You have.
16:56:11 Stopped listening to your body. So, start here. Start with one bite, and slow down. You've got this.
16:56:17 Next week, we're tackling one of the trickiest habits, late night snacking, why it happens, and what it really means. How to take your evenings back.
16:56:26 Alright, I'll see you then.
