I know that this is not a title you’d expect to see from someone as squirrelly as me.
You may be even thinking to yourself, “Shouldn’t we be going faster and working harder to get to our goals?”
Well maybe during certain circumstances, but today I want to talk about 2 instances when we need to SLOOOOWW DOOOOOWN, and how it gets us to our health and fitness goals FASTER!
Tired of Overeating and Feeling Stuffed After Meals?
Start slowing down when you EAT…..
Eating slow is one of the MOST important habits to learn around eating healthy. It is not so much WHAT types of foods that you decide to eat, because no matter what (healthy or not healthy), we will eat more when we eat fast and eat less when we eat slow.
The main benefits of eating slow are:
– Eat less food and calories at a given meal.
– Less bloating and discomfort after meals. (No need to unbutton those pants)
– Taste and savor the flavors of your meal that leave you feeling more satisfied.
– Better digestion of nutrients.
I don’t know why I’m in such a hurry to eat either, but I shovel food in my mouth sometimes like a cave man is going to hit me over the head with his billy club and take off with my chicken leg! I have to really practice this habit frequently and remind myself to SLOOOOOOWW DOOOOWN.
I invite you to take notice of how fast or slow you are eating your meals. We know through research that people who eat fast consume way more calories and feel less satisfied with their meals than people who eat slow and savor every bite. Go hard and fast at the gym…not the dinner table!
Ways to slow down when we eat:
– Put the fork down in between bites.
– Chew the bite of food in your mouth and swallow before putting the next bite in your mouth.
– Eat with chopsticks or your non-dominant hand.
– Set a timer for 10-15 min and make your meal last that long.
– Take a drink of water between bites.
– SITTING DOWN will help us to slow down and be more mindful of every bite we are taking. (More Info on this from a previous blog, you can read it HERE)
*Eating Slow is NOT a natural habit that comes to most of us instinctively. We have to be AWARE of it and really practice it CONSISTENTLY. This is just ONE of the KEY nutritional habits that we will be practicing, with the support of a group, in my 8 week group coaching program, The WILLPOWER Diet. Get more INFO and grab your spot HERE.*
Feeling a little Tired & Stressed?
Start incorporating a few SLOW Walks or Leisure Activities…..
Heavy lifting sessions, metabolic workouts, running, and cardio can be great for burning calories and fat, but they also cause stress on the body and increase our stress hormones if done too often without a balance of more leisure type activities.
The body will only take so much. If you are mentally or emotionally stressed, and then you add a bunch of stressful exercise on top of that, it is only a matter of time before your body is going to give you a “BIG EFF U” in the form of an injury, illness, or setback.
Trust me, it’s happened to me! I’m still getting back on track from the damage I did to my hormones while over exercising during a time I was stressed with my job and in my personal life. I kept doing more and more, sleeping less and less, ingesting more caffeine, until finally, CRASH…..Adrenal and Hormonal Upset will eventually show you “Who’s the BOSS!”
However, I’m starting to get back to normal, well, as normal as I can be ;), now that I have scaled back on the caffeine, excessive exercise, and started incorporating daily leisure walks outside to manage my stress.
– Take leisure walks in nature or outside
– Gentle yoga and stretching classes
– Use a foam roller to work on muscles that are tight
– Meditation &/or tai chi classes
– Massages or body work
– Read books or magazines
– Sit outside and enjoy nature
– Listen to music
– Dance it out
We don’t always have to go hard all the time to reach our goals. There may even be times when going slowly and having a little patience actually gets us to our goals faster!
This week, I invite you to notice when you are eating fast and could slow it down a little bit, or where some leisure activity could help you manage stress, which makes us more productive in reaching our goals. Proper rest and recovery also helps us to push harder when we have tougher workouts scheduled. It’s all about BALANCE!
I’d love to hear what you do to de-stress & re-entergize, &/or slow down with your food in the comments below.
Thanks for stopping by,
Tommie
P.S. Again, Eating Slow is not a natural habit that comes to most of us instinctively. We have to be AWARE of it and really practice it consistently. This is just ONE of the KEY nutritional habits that we will be practicing, with the support of a group, in my 8 week group coaching program, The WILLPOWER Diet. Get more INFO and GRAB your spot HERE.