Losing Weight the Chew-Chew Way

FIRST RULE : Don’t eat until you are properly hungry.

SECOND RULE : When you have worked up a real appetite, from the food that is available to you, select that which appeals most to you.

THIRD RULE : If the food needs to be chewed, chew it until all the good taste in the food has been extracted and swallow only when it practically “swallows itself”. [1] Fruit, milk, soups wines, beer and all sapid liquids or semi-solids should be sipped or nibbled and their taste enjoyed.

FOURTH RULE : Enjoy your food and do not allow any depressing or diverting thought intrude upon the meal.

FIFTH RULE : The moment the appetite begins to slack up a bit, the moment there is any degree of satisfaction of the appetite, stop eating!  Remember that appetite will return and you will have another chance to eat when it does.

SIXTH RULE : The total time taken to eat in any one day should not exceed more than half-an-hour, however that half-hour is broken down. [2]  Ten or fifteen minutes should be enough to satisfy even the most revenous appetite.

[1] The Thirty-Two Chews Rule.

Most food will take 30 to 70 chews but not all, some will take considerably less to liquify, but as a general rule, food should be chewed atleast thirty-two times.  It is not necessary to spit out any remaining solid food after this time as some believe.

‘Mr Gladstone’s advice to his children which has become clasic viz. : “Chew your food thirty-two times at least, so as to give each of your thirty-two teeth a chance of it.” was a general recommendation.  Mr Gladstone was observed once when he was a guest at high table at Trinity College, Cambridge  and the average number of his ‘bites’ (masticory movements) was as far as could be counted, was about seventy-five.  That did not speak well of Trinity fare, unless Mr Gladstone happend to choose food that required that amount of chewing

[2] The Thirty Minute Rule.

If a meals are eaten without any distraction or conversation with the food being ingested and swallowed without a break between mouthfulls, then this rule can be strictly adhered to.  However, meal times should be enjoyed and should be a time for social interaction.  If the meal is consumed too quickly, then the body has no time to inform the brain that enough has been eaten and the appetite had been satisfied.  Remember that it takes twenty minutes for the message to get to the brain that the stomach is full.