"The more you eat, the less flavor; the less you eat, the more flavor."
Chinese Proverb

"A man may be a pessimistic determinist before lunch and an optimistic believer in the will’s freedom after it."
Aldous Huxley

I like to eat slowly. A meal takes thirty minutes or sometimes an hour. But pretty often I forget about this. So I thought I’d write an article about it to keep as a reminder. Something to take a look at whenever I get caught up in stressful eating. Here are three good reasons to eat slowly.

1. You get to really feel the different tastes and textures.

Eating can become a lot more pleasurable if you slow down. If you just wolf it down you never notice nuances in taste and texture. It’s like trying to appreciate the nature, the light, the colors, the beautiful surroundings while driving really fast.

Also, I like how the textures and tastes shift as food becomes less hot.

2. You reduce the risk of overeating.

It takes about 20 minutes for your brain to register that you are full. That’s because the food has to reach the intestines before your body starts sending signals telling your brain that you feel full. By slowing down your eating your brain can stop you before you eat too much.

3. You reduce the risk of getting an upset stomach.

Eating too fast can lead to digestion problems. It can also lead to you feeling more stressed throughout your day. Something that can also cause stomach problems, headaches and other health problems. See your meals as a time and place where you can take it easy and de-stress your mind and body.

How to do it.

Three simple tips that I have found useful are:

Eat before you get ridiculously hungry.

If you’re really hungry it will be hard to eat slowly. The best way to avoid this is to not wait for too long but to eat when you feel just a little hungry. Or to have your meals at specified times during the day that you know from experience will be appropriate to avoid getting too hungry.

Put down your fork between the bites.

The classic advice is to put down your fork and then chew. Then to pick up your fork again after you’ve swallowed, take another bite and repeat the process. I like this tip because it forces you to slow down. Instead of taking that stressed energy from your day and just letting it power through the meal too as you quickly wolf down everything on your plate.

Focus on the food and yourself. Not on what other people are doing.

It’s easy to get drawn into someone else’s pace while eating (just like when driving or running). Be conscious of keeping your own pace instead of just unconsciously eating as fast as everyone around the table might do.

Being aware of this challenge can help you. Being present throughout your meal can also be useful to keep a good pace and fully enjoy the food.

You can find a few simple ways to reconnect with the present moment in this article.

“吃的越多，越不香；吃的越少越好吃”，中国谚语。

“人在饿肚子时总是悲观的，吃饱后才变得乐观”，阿道斯赫胥黎。

我喜欢吃饭很忙，一顿饭能用30分钟，有时候甚至1时。但是我常常忘记这些，所以觉得应该写一篇文章，作为我吃饭紧张时的提醒。这里列出了慢慢吃饭的3个好理由。

1.你可以真正享受到不同的风味和口感

如果你降低速度，吃饭可能会变得更愉快。如果你狼吞虎咽的吃，你永远不会注意风味和口感的美妙，就像快速驾驶时，无暇欣赏大自然、阳光、色彩和美丽的环境。

同时，我希望品尝食物不烫时到风味和口感。

2.你减少了吃的过多的风险

你的大脑大约需要20min的时间提醒你已经吃饱了。这是因为在你的身体开始向大脑发射已经吃饱了的信号之前，食物已经达到肠子。降低吃饭速度，你的大脑可以在吃的过多之前制止你。

3.你降低了肚子痛的风险

吃的太快会引起消化问题，也会让你一整天都觉得很有压力，还可能导致胃痛。在你放松的时间和地点吃饭，并放松大脑和身体。

怎样才能做到呢？

我发现了3个简单有用的方法：

在你感到十分饥饿之前吃饭。

如果你真的很饿，会很难吃的慢。避免这样的最好办法就是，当你感到一点饿时，不要等太长时间再吃饭。或者根据经验在每天固定的时间吃饭，可以避免不会太饿。

在啃咬的间隙放下餐叉。

最传统的方法是放下你的餐叉后再咀嚼，在咽下以后再拿起餐叉，再咬一口，重复此过程。我喜欢这种方法因为它可以强迫你慢下来，不再狼吞虎咽的吃下盘子里所有的食物，不再从饮食中摄入过多的能量。

注意食物和你自己，不再想着其他人在做什么。

吃饭时很容易与其他人速度相同（和开车或跑步一样）。注意保持你自己的速度，而不是与餐桌上其他人吃的一样快。

意识到这个问题可以帮助你，每顿饭自始至终都坐在餐桌前对保持好的速度并享受食物也有帮助。你也可能在本文中发现其他的简单的方法。