By Jill Hillhouse, RNCP – Nutritionist

Everyone is busy. We are all rushing – to get to work on time, get the kids to school on time, get to that meeting, get that report done. Being over-worked and over-scheduled generally magnifies the struggle we have with eating well. So how do we get off the merry-go-round and start taking better care of ourselves and what we eat? The answers aren’t easy, but there are little things we can do starting right now. First of all, we can pay attention to what we are doing when we are eating.

Sounds easy doesn’t it? But how many of us stand at the counter picking through our food as we scan the paper, or sit in front of the TV and unconsciously eat that second helping because we barely tasted the first one, or eat at our desk with the computer because we are too busy to do otherwise? By doing these things we are making an unconscious choice to ignore our food, meaning that, not only are we not taking much pleasure in actually enjoying our food, but we are also more likely to eat more than our bodies need.

Then there is the question of speed. When we eat there is a whole series of physiological events that trigger the “fullness” response which takes about twenty minutes to kick in. Levels of leptin, the hormone responsible for satiety, rise, while levels of ghrelin, the hormone that makes us feel hungry, drop. When we eat quickly, we don’t give these and other appetite-related hormones the opportunity to do their jobs, so by the time we are done eating, not only do we feel uncomfortably full, but we have also consumed an excess of calories that contribute to long term weight gain.
We need to eat consciously. This means avoiding breakfast with the paper, lunch in front of the computer and dinner in front of the TV. Clear off the table and set yourself a place. Think about each bite and savour the taste, texture and aroma of everything. Paying attention and eating in a conscious manner will go a long way to helping us slow down and perhaps eat a little less. And hey – you might even enjoy the experience.

Jill Hillhouse, BPHE, RNCP., is a nutritionist with CIBO Clinic and a faculty member of the Institute of Holistic Nutrition in Toronto. She is a regular contributor to various national health magazines.