Healthiest Thanksgiving Tip? Chew Slowly.
“You eat slowly, that is good for stomach.”
What you eat on Thanksgiving doesn’t matter.
There are plenty of aspects of Thanksgiving to be grateful for: family, friends, food, football, and the official start of the socially acceptable time to watch Elf on repeat and listen to Christmas music. But there is one under-appreciated component of Thanksgiving Day that I must discuss - chewing.
Innate and nearly automatic, chewing is an integral component of the eating process that makes or breaks a Thanksgiving meal experience. If you chew “correctly”, i.e. slowly and mindfully, you will feel full for hours and totally satisfied with your meal.
Chew “incorrectly”, i.e. quickly and ravenously, and you will feel disgustingly full, bloated, and hungry enough to hunt for leftovers within a few hours.
This study tells you everything you need to know. Compared to women that were told to eat quickly, those that were told to eat slowly consumed fewer calories and were more satisfied with the meal. The researchers found that:
Quick eaters consumed 646 cals in 9 minutes
Slow eaters consumed 579 cals in 29 minutes
That’s 67 more calories in 20 fewer minutes. Worst of all, the women that ate quickly, despite consuming more calories, became hungry again sooner.
Unlike most fitness professionals, I don’t care what you eat on Thanksgiving. Forget about restricting calories, counting carbs, or any of that nonsense. There are 364 other days for that.
To have a healthy and enjoyable Thanksgiving dinner, don’t stress about what you shovel into your mouth. Instead, focus on how you eat.
Give it a time.
Grinding, mashing, and tearing apart our food as we get the digestive process started may seem simple, but it is during these precious moments that we send loud signals to our brain regarding our hunger. There are a few cascading signals that tell our brain that we are full, including:
Activation of stretch receptors in the stomach by the presence of food or liquid
These stretch receptors signal the brain via the vagus nerve, the connection between the gut and the brain
These signals result in the release of satiety hormones, such as leptin and cholecystokinin (CCK)
The hormone leptin may also result in the release of dopamine, the neurotransmitter that makes eating a pleasurable experience (2)
The one characteristic that all of these signals have in common is that they take TIME to travel through the Vagus never from the stomach to the brain. Chewing slowly and mindfully is the most effective way to ensure that we leave enough time for these satiety signals to do their jobs and prevent gluttonous overeating. Instead of simply telling you more, let me share this tale of two very different Thanksgiving dinner experiences.
Which type of eater are you?
I’ve found that there are two kinds of eaters in this world. First, we have super fast eaters. Let's call them the scarf-downers.
On the other hand, we have slower eaters. We’ll refer to them as mindful munchers. Which one are you? Let’s explore how each approaches Thanksgiving so you can know which category you fall into.
How scarf-downers do Thanksgiving.
Scarf-downers are STARVING - they jumps into his seat and piles everything edible in sight onto his plate. They hurriedly shovels bite after bite down their gullet, already searching and planning their next forkful before they are finished chewing the current one.
Through chewing so quickly, they are essentially telling his brain “keep it coming, I can’t get enough of this stuff!” They ravenously attack their food, finishing it all before their brain even realizes that it’s dinner time. Before they know it, they have consumed an inordinate amount of food and must go back for seconds. On their second trip back to the sweet potato casserole tray, it suddenly hits them. - “I am WAY too full"“, they think.
Though 50 bites too late, the fullness and satisfaction signal finally reach their brain. Their dinner has been ruined by their out of control speed eating, resulting in a bloated, gross, and sick to their stomach mess. They collapse on the couch in defeat. “I swear I’m not eating again until next year” they exclaim as they nod off into a calorie bomb-induced slumber.
They sleeps for an hour or so, but are awoken by a grumbling stomach. Distraught, they stumbles to the kitchen to crush some leftovers, ready to get hurt all over again.
How mindful munchers do Thanksgiving.
On the other hand, mindful munchers enjoy a radically different Thanksgiving dinner. By the time they sit at the table, they have already consumed ample amounts of vegetables and protein. They could eat, but they’re in no rush - by no means are they ravenous. They are also well hydrated, having drank an entire glass of water about 15 minutes prior to sitting down.
They begins their meal by loading their plate up with even more protein and vegetables, albeit some of those heavily coated in butter and breadcrumbs, and decide they will eat those first. Before they pick up their fork and knife they take a moment to express gratitude for all of the delicious food and the love they feel from being surrounded by family and friends.
Finally they begins to eat, slicing off a fork full, moving the food to their mouth, and placing their utensils down as they chews. Slowly, they chew and chew until the food is finely processed, swallows, and then begin the process all over again. After completing the first course and giving it plenty of time for the satiety signals from his stomach to reach their brain, they think, “hmm, this is all amazing, but I’m actually starting to get full.”
Now, with their hunger suppressed and belly already well on its way to full, they dig into the “good stuff.” They helps themself to all of his favorite and tastiest staples, savoring each and every bite. By the time the meal is complete, they are very full, but not uncomfortably so. They even has enough energy to mosey around the block for a ten minute walk with their family, and head to the recliner with plenty of energy to watch the Cowboys continue yet another disappointing season.
The benefits of eating slowly include:
Improved digestion
Getting fuller, faster (tendency to eat smaller portions)
Staying fuller for longer
Easier weight management
Improved meal satisfaction
The downsides of eating quickly include:
Worsened digestion
Eating more before you feel full (tendency to eat larger portions)
Getting hungrier, more quickly
Easier to put on weight
Decreased meal satisfaction
Practical takeaways you can use TODAY
Top Thanksgiving eat tips:
Of course, chew SLOWLY
Put down your utensils in between bites
Wait a few moments between courses or before getting seconds
Drink a large glass of water 10-15 minutes before the meal
Take some mindful DEEP breaths before the meal and stay nice and relaxed while eating.
Enjoy your family and friends and don’t stress! Thanksgiving comes once a year, treat yourself!
While these strategies are especially helpful for today, they are useful tools to keep in mind for every meal you consume throughout the year. Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!
