The most important habit is choosing the right habit to work on.

Have you ever been told you’re a fast eater? Yep, me too. It’s a hard habit to break. It’s one you really must be mindful of. You’ve got to just stop, slow down, and taste your food.

We as a society are in a constant pace of going fast. If it’s not quick and easy or done at a fast pace, then we don’t want to waste our time or energy. And honestly that’s why so many people inhale their food! How many of you actually sat down as a family to eat dinner when you were younger or even now? How many of you in school got to sit down and enjoy your lunch for longer than 20 minutes or even as an adult at work? We are accustomed to eating our food quick and not enjoying it.

We go through the drive through to pick up food to eat quick when we get home. We go to restaurants to be sat down and rushed out so the restaurant can sit others waiting.

RUSH RUSH RUSH HURRY HURRY HURRY

We are mindlessly speed-eating from one meal to the next that we don’t really stop to taste our food. We don’t slow down to enjoy every bite. And with our favorite foods, the ones that we crave, or feel are guilt foods, we eat them even faster because we feel ashamed eating them. But what if you stopped doing that? What if you slowed down and enjoyed what you were eating? Here's a few things that would happen. You'd feel fuller sooner and not overeat, in doing so eating less calories. If you took time to chew your food properly, you’d digest it better because food wouldn’t land in your stomach in huge chunks. You also wouldn’t get gas or bloating from taking in more air or get heartburn from eating so fast that your digestive tract is filled with large pieces of food and is overloaded.

So, your next meal, be conscious about what you are about to eat, and how quickly you're eating. And take time to fully enjoy the taste of it. Eating should not be something to get your through to the next thing, it’s something you should take the time (more than 20 minutes) to enjoy! And yes, our mom was right, chew your food. Chewing properly will automatically slow you down. Just try it next time you eat. I bet you'll notice a huge difference!