Many years ago my mom and I were driving around North Jersey, running errands, when we suddenly realized that we had missed lunch and were famished. I rummaged around for a snack, but all I could come up with was a tiny cellophane package of jelly beans. While my mom kept her eye on the road, I tore open the package and divvied up the six jellybeans. A very short while later we laughed as we realized that now we were barely hungry at all. Of course, knowing this was likely temporary, we soon pulled in to our favorite diner and ordered lunch.
If you’ve never visited “Your Health is on Your Plate” before, visit Lets Start at the Very Beginning to get a jumpstart protecting the health and well-being of the ones you love!! Then check out “A Milestone Celebration — Your Favorite Posts” and “The Most Popular Blog Posts of All” for more great ideas and recipes! Wondering why I capitalize the “f” in Food? See Food with a Capital F.
For me, this experience illustrates an important principle, namely, that if you wait a bit after you eat, you can expect your hunger to resolve. Problem? We have unlearned how to wait. Solution: Relearn.
We’re not supposed to eat quickly. Schools in France, with the lowest average BMI in Western Europe, give children an hour for lunch and then an hour to play. Slow food. Slow digestion. In contrast, on this side of the Atlantic many American societal customs conspire against our physiology. We invented “fast food.” We “grab” a bite to eat. We “wolf down” our food so we can get to swim team practice on time. Or we skip meals entirely, because we don’t have time. Our mothers and grandmothers warned against that.
We don’t eat slowly. We don’t enjoy our food. We don’t take as long to eat a meal as we took to prepare it (thank you for that bit of wisdom, Michael Pollan). We don’t eat with our best silver. We don’t stop to smell the roses in the vase on the table. We don’t make it our business to grow vegetables, harvest herbs, or simmer soup on the stove.
Think for a minute about how uncomfortable an overly-full stomach feels. Feedback from your stomach to your brain lags by 20-30 minutes. If you eat quickly, and don’t stop until you are full, you won’t become uncomfortable until well after your meal has ended and you have left the table. But if you give your body the time to tell you that you are satisfied, then you can stop eating when you have had enough.
It’s no surprise that we don’t wait to feel full. But we can, and we must. Make an effort to prepare an attractive plate for each person at the table, and leave the pots at the stove. Take a deep breath before you begin to eat. Take a bite. Put down your fork. Chew your food thoughtfully. Taste it. Enjoy it. Enjoy the conversation. Enjoy the roses. Relax, and allow your food to begin to digest. Put down your fork. Notice how satisfied you feel. Notice your hunger disappearing.
Follow Dr Sukol’s posts on Twitter @RoxanneSukolMD and on Facebook at Roxanne Breines Sukol or Your Health is on Your Plate.