Slow down your eating to speed up weight loss

When you sit down to eat, do you savor it slowly or do you gobble it up in record time? Did you know that eating quickly can make you gain weight because your body hasn't registered how full your stomach really is?

Well, that's not the only news. Taking your time to eat can help prevent you from overeating, but there's a difference in how this affects your body, depending on whether you're considered normal weight, overweight or obese. Read on for more details.

Eating quickly can make you gain weight because your body hasn't registered how full your stomach is. Taking your time to eat can help prevent you from overeating, but how this affects your body depends on whether you're considered normal weight, overweight or obese.

Bite for bite, pound for pound

In the study published by the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, two groups were observed: one group of normal-weight individuals and another of overweight and obese individuals. Both groups were asked to consume two meals, one at a slow pace with no time constraints in mind in which they were asked to stop and put the spoon down in between bites, and a second one at a fast speed with an imagined time constraint, large bites and quick chewing without putting the spoon down for breaks.

The results:

• Both the normal-weight and overweight groups were less hungry after eating the slower meal.
• They also tended to drink more water, which could have affected the amount of calories they consumed.

What can we learn from this? Taking our time and enjoying our meals—healthy food, mind you—we can ensure we'll be taking in a proper amount of calories. Plus, don't forget your H₂O…

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You Are Who You Eat With

Friends can be very influential in the way we dress, speak and even eat. So does that mean who we hang around with can make us fat? Obese, even? Researchers decided to look into this to see if that was the case.

What did researchers find?

Turns out that the people around us can affect what we eat and how much, according to findings from several studies published in The Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics

I’ll Have What She’s Having

When people know that others in the group are eating low-calorie food, it makes them more likely to want to eat the same, the data said. The same went for high-calorie food. People also ate similar quantities of food just to fit in. When eating in group settings, people tend to eat like their friends do, whether it's healthy or not.

Real Friends Don't Let Friends Eat Junk

Eating is a social behavior and we can use it for good. When dining out or having friends over for a dinner party, set a healthy trend. Select healthier options on the menu and opt to split a large dish to cut calories. Serve a nutritious spread of fruits, veggies and smaller-portioned foods at your next party.

Overeating and making the wrong food choices can make you gain weight, so it's especially important to mind what you eat when in the company of friends. Be the one to make the first move!

Need to lose weight?

Whether 20, 50, or 100 pounds or more, Dr. Aron is here to listen and help. Read more about her medical weight loss program in New York.