Do you remember the last time you sat down and ate a good home cooked meal? Or even one at a nice restaurant where you weren’t rushed through like a herd of cattle? Unfortunately, most people can’t remember when they sat down and actually had a good meal. In this day and age, we are always on the run, taking our children to this activity or that, dealing with work issues, and other events that make us rush, rush, rush.

Fast food makes it all too easy for most people to deal with the necessary activity of eating. This in turn makes us forget that in order to lose weight successfully we need to watch what we put in our bodies. Face it, fast food is chock full of calories and preservatives that no one actually needs.

When you do not sit down at the dining room table and actually pay attention to what you’re eating and enjoy it, you will probably eat too much. We don’t get a feeling of fullness or satisfaction when we eat on the run and our minds are too busy to really pay attention what we’re doing. We tend to eat too much because we eat too fast and unless we get full when we eat a meal, we find ourselves hungry an hour later. So what do we do? We eat again.

By not stopping long enough to eat a decent meal, to enjoy it and savor the flavor of the food, our body does not get full. There is a reason why we are told to chew each mouthful a set amount of times. It forces us to slow down and to not swallow pieces of food that are too large and take longer to digest. We have to give our bodies the opportunity to digest our food properly, another problem that we all have. Once again the rush factor comes into play.

Sitting down to eat a meal is a way to lose weight, especially if we make it ourselves. When we prepare a meal, we know exactly what is cooked, how much seasoning is put into it, the portions that are served…all of these factors into a good dietary regimen. Even if you are not on a diet, by simply paying attention to the size of your portions and what you are eating can make a big difference.

When you sit down to eat, specifically when you or a member of the family prepares the meal, try to eat at least something from each of the four food groups. A meat, a starch, a vegetable, a fruit, and a dairy are all key components to a healthy meal. Try not too each two starches if you can avoid it – such as mashed potatoes and corn. Starches break down into sugar and sugar can cause a gain in weight. Eat leafy vegetables, such as spinach and broccoli, to assure your body gets enough fiber. If you like bread on the side, have a slice of whole wheat instead of white.

The point here is to make sure that no matter how busy your schedule is, sit down and eat. Don’t stand up with your plate in your hand, actually sit down. Converse with your family, eat your food slowly, and make sure that you enjoy your meal instead of not tasting it and then wondering why you’re hungry later on.

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