The Most Important Habit for Fat Loss Success

Lifting weights is all good to preserve muscle mass and getting stronger, but everyone these days knows "you can't out-train a bad diet". Lifting is super fun and everybody loves it, but we don't do it mainly to burn calories.

What about cardio and exercise in general?
Sadly, we don't burn as many calories as we'd like exercising.

Cardio in particular is very time consuming and results in little additional  fat loss. High Intensity cardio is awesome, but can only be sustained for a couple of seconds.

There are benefits, and a place for steady state cardio, (we like a mix of low steady state and HIIT) but we have to say we don't advocate doing cardio for the sole purpose of burning calories.

Consider this: your body, thanks to mother nature, burns a huge amount of calories to keep you alive. In fact, it accounts for 60-75% of your "calories out". This is big. The amount of energy expenditure added by exercise and digestion is small in comparison. Even more so when you take a look at it in terms of weeks and months.

It's true, you can lose fat even without exercising.

So, if more exercise is not cutting it as the single most important habit for fat loss success, which one is?

That's right. Eating slowly fellas.

Not drinking shakes or teas, or juicing, or buying organic, or avoiding sugar or eating breakfast or going to the gym even.

It's eating slowly. Eating more like Slow-Poke and less like a Simpson.

Eating slowly has more benefits for fat loss than any other thing you can do in your quest to get and maintain a lean physique because:

• It puts you in control
• Tunes you with your body's satiety signals
• Improves digestion
• You enjoy your meal more
• You can do it anywhere

In this fast-paced world, where everyone has fallen victim to the "busy" trap, and we are bombarded with infomercials claiming their products will get you ripped faster than you can eat a bowl of ice-cream, it's no coincidence you are pushing yourself to do everything faster and faster. We want everything immediately.

Having said that, it's normal that you struggle with your food choices, binge and distracted eating. This things all have one thing in common: Speed.

In fact, we don't make poor food choices because we are lazy or ignorant. We make poor choices because they happen quickly and automatically. It seems as if the process would gain momentum, and once you are on that fast train to the opposite side of your goals, there seems to be no way to stop it.

For long-term weight control, it's important that you to learn how to be present in the event of eating. You do that by slowing down. That's how you stay responsible, instead of automatic. 

Remember this saying from our Precision Nutrition Coaching Program: "More Speed, Less Control".

Start by adding a couple of minutes to your meals, sitting down and putting your fork down between bites.

What if I told you great mother nature gave us natural calorie-control centers in our bodies, that are perfectly capable of letting us know when we've had too much, or too little food?

Yes, it's true. Our bodies are equipped with hormones we are just beginning to understand, such as Leptin and Ghrelin, that signal to the brain when we've had enough food. The only thing we have to do is be aware, and listen.

The sad thing is, this hormones take a while to kick in. It's estimated that they can take as long as 20 minutes to get from the stomach to the brain. If you ever time yourself eating a pizza slice, you know how 20 minutes can be an awful amount of time.

There was a time in high-school were the school cafeteria was replaced with Domino's Pizza (no shit!). Recess time was 30 minutes, so I know I can down at least half a big pie in under 20. That's around 1200 calories!

To make it even harder, modern engineered processed foods are designed to be hyper-palatable (Hyper-Tasty). These foods stimulate a different part of your brain, which almost guarantees that you won't be able to stop until you've finished the whole package.

On the other hand, mother nature's foods are packed with fiber, and this other stuff us nutritionist like to rave about called vitamins and minerals, which support every process in our bodies, including the way you perform, and the way you are able to tune-in to your own body's satiety signals.

So, eat mostly non-processed or minimally processed foods slowly, and give yourself some time to quantify how hungry you are before, during and after the meal.

If done right, you should be able to stop at a time when the meal sits in perfectly. The meal doesn't make you tired, or gives you an upset stomach. You should feel energized and ready to take on life.

The digestive process starts at the mouth.

When you chew more, you expose your food to more saliva, which starts breaking down your food, mashing it all into the "bolus", which will go down your esophagus smoothly. So when you take your time to chew and really taste the flavors in each bite, you are not only enjoying your meal more, but you actually help the digestive process.

What happens is you end up absorbing more nutrients and obtain more energy from food.

In the intestines, less undigested food means less excess bacteria. These excess bacteria is what putrefies, and leaves you gassy, bloated and sometimes causes diarrhea or constipation. Also, abdominal pain, cramping and other annoying problems.

Chew more, enjoy more, lose weight.

According to the World Health Organization,  "health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being".

The internet today would make you believe "food is fuel" through a series of "motivational" bodybuilding selfies with quotes.

We, as humans, eat for many reasons. All of which are very valid.

We eat not only to nourish ourselves, but also to socialize, to celebrate, to experiment and out of tradition. The act and event of eating is deeply ingrained in every culture.

Eat slowly, look around the table. Take your time to really enjoy the event of dining and the people around you.  Put your fork down, join the conversation and give yourself time to be in control of what goes in your mouth.

...then share some dessert with me.

Eating slowly is a habit, so it takes practice to form, but once you get the hang of it, it's hard to leave behind.

What's cool about habits is that they follow you everywhere you go. You don't simply forget to brush your teeth when you are on vacation, do you?

That's why we've chosen to teach the nutrition habits of the people who are lean year-round with the clients in our Very Serious Results Plan, instead of handing out meal plans which will eventually fail as soon as vacation strikes.

That's why learning to slow down is the most important habit. You can do it home or away. It doesn't matter if you are having a salad, or junk food. In Precision Nutrition coaching, we call it an "Anchor Habit", because you can always go back to it no matter what.

In fact, I'd like you to try this tips and this next experiment:

These are some of the strategies our Very Serious clients have implemented with success:

• Putting the fork down between bites
• Using a stopwatch to add 5 minutes to their meal
• Sitting down to eat (huge)
• Avoiding distractions such as TV
• Setting aside time to eat.

We might be the only nutrition website that's actually encouraging their readers to eat junk food, so before we get sued, remember it's for a good cause: awareness.

Here's what I want you to try:

1. Slow down, take a moment and be aware of how hungry you are before you take your first bite. Quantify your hunger on a scale from 1 to 10.
   
2. Don't eat yet! How are you feeling? Are you anxious? happy? afraid? Notice your emotions.
   
3. Take your first (small) bite. Be decent. Imagine you are at a fancy dinner table. Take your time to really taste what's in your mouth. What makes it so good? Delight your taste buds and your brain.
   
4. Put the food down.
   
5. Keep chewing, keep tasting. Grind everything down completely until the food has lost it's texture. Enjoy.
   
6. Repeat from number 1, until the meal is over.
   

How did you feel before/during/after the meal? Did eating slowly help you be more in control, and feel more satisfied?

Let us know in the comments section below: