Category — Diet Tricks

I don’t claim to be an expert about the slow eating movement, because I’m not. I’ve heard about it, seen occasional blog post titles about it, but I can’t say I know anything about it except that it probably has something to do with eating your food slowly.

I work at a start up company in Silicon Valley, and the people I work with are pretty quick at what they do. This of course mainly points to their quick thinking and doing their job extremely well. But it also has to do with them eating extremely fast. I have always been a fast eater, but I was in a whole new class. I’m not sure what it has to do with anything, perhaps a burning desire to return to their keyboards and compose code, or just an impatience about being around too many other people, I don’t know. But the amount of time it takes an engineer around here to clear a plate of, say, potato salad, is pretty impressive.

But for someone who is limiting their food intake to 1,200 calories per day, one wants to enjoy their food they’re eating when they have it. Since meals tend to be much smaller and lighter in nature, such as salad and perhaps a small portion of meat, if one is a fast eater, the amount of time to down your meal will be just a couple of minutes, perhaps a little slower if it contains a beverage. And if you’re eating dinner with someone else, showing impatience while watching your wife “slowly” finish her meal isn’t a good way to build up your relationship.

Just before writing this post, I made myself a tuna sandwich (two slices of wheat bread, one spoonful of tuna salad spread, mustard, lettuce, tomato and pickle) and a small glass of water to wash it down. I told myself that I would stop and enjoy each bit of that sandwich, something made easier reading the news off of my iPhone. Not only did I enjoy that tuna salad a whole lot more, I was able to actually compose a thought in my head thinking about what I was reading, thinking about family, long lost friends, you name it.  I also actually thought about how good that sandwich tasted.

I think you get my point. This doesn’t just go for people on a diet.  Slow down when eating your meal.  You’ll enjoy your food a whole lot more, and it will probably also help you not take those unnecessary snacks between meals.

Happy eating.

Perhaps the most difficult time of year for me when it comes to my diet is winter. While it may not be that time of year yet, it is the latter part of fall and the cold weather is beginning to set in. Generally speaking, summer time tends to be easier for me in controlling my food intake, especially since I enjoy doing a lot of outdoor exercise at that time of year. I know one can easily stock up on calorie-packed barbecue foods and sweets, but I have generally been able to overcome these desires and it hasn’t generally been that big of a deal since I got through the difficult first part of my diet. But now that winter is looming, the urge to stock up on warm food and drink to combat the colder temperatures is all too alluring.

For example, I am a chocoholic and one thing that I absolutely love is a cup of hot chocolate. On a cold day, nothing beats a cup of hot chocolate when visiting Peet’s Coffee with my office mates to start off the day. During the summer I always bought a cup of sugarless iced-tea, which certainly helped in my daily caloric intake. But a cup of hot chocolate can certainly pack a number of calories unless one is careful in how they order it.

What I do is I order a small hot chocolate with no whipped cream. According to the data I have been able to find, a small cup of hot chocolate is 200 calories.  On a 1,200 daily calorie diet, that leaves me with 1,000 calories left to consume for the day. If I decide to order a small hot chocolate, I am sure to add a fast paced walk during my work day, a route that is just over 1 mile in distance and takes just under 15 minutes to walk, a nice 4 mph walking speed. And according to my diet/exercise database of calorie numbers, a 15 minute walk at 4 mph is 76 calories. If I do this twice in my work day, that adds up to just over 150 calories, leaving just 50 calories of that hot chocolate drink.

Adding in exercise routines to counterbalance calories that I have eaten or drank during the day is what I do on a regular basis to try an end up at the daily 1,200 calorie mark. And just to be sure, I add an additional workout at the gym in the evening.