The 3 Worst Eating Habits for Your Waistline
By Lizzie Streit, MS, RDN, LD
You have probably heard the advice to eat slowly, but do you know the reasons behind this recommendation?
It has to do with a factor known as oro-sensory exposure (OSE), or exposure of your mouth and oral cavity to sensory cues like tastes and nutrients while eating. Nutrition and obesity experts speculate that increasing OSE time may increase satiety and decrease intake.
If you’re trying to lose weight, it can be helpful to consider OSE and implement techniques to prolong it. Here are three eating habits that may be preventing you from dropping those extra pounds.
1 – Eating too fast
Have you ever eaten a meal so quickly that you feel overly full and sick once it catches up to you? We’ve all been there.
Not only can slowing down your eating prevent those uncomfortable feelings, it may also help with weight loss. Eating slowly prolongs OSE time, which in turn allows your senses to catch up and signal satiety. As a result, you will be less likely to overeat.
To avoid eating too fast, follow the tips in this article on mindful eating.
2 – Taking big bites
Taking big bites of food may also impact OSE. When you have a lot of food in your mouth, you may feel the need to swallow quickly and more often. In these instances, the food will not stay long in your mouth, resulting in a short OSE time.
In addition to taking manageable bites, it’s important to take the time to fully chew the food before swallowing. In fact, a study in 58 participants found that those who ate foods that required less chewing had a 21.5% higher intake than those who ate foods that needed more chewing. The latter group had a significantly lower eating rate. These results support that idea that prolonging OSE time can reduce overall intake.
3 – Loading up your plate
Another factor that affects OSE is how much you put on your plate. Once food is in front of you, it’s easy to finish it completely even if you don’t need or want all of it. Fixing a plate with large portions may also increase your eating rate as you attempt to clean your plate.
When putting together your plate, keep an eye on the portions and don’t load up with too much food at first. As you eat, be mindful of taking small bites and taking breaks between them to slow down your eating rate. Then, if you still feel hungry after slowly eating your meal, consider having seconds of the protein or vegetables.
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