Want to drop kilos? Ditch chamcha for chopsticks

Eating with chopsticks helps you eat slowly, leading to consumption of smaller portions. iTALK tells you why how is as important as what you eat

Eating with chopsticks helps you eat slowly, leading to consumption of smaller portions. iTALK tells you why how is as important as what you eat

Want a body like hers? Instead of a full plate, eat from a quarter plate. British model/actress Elizabeth Hurley has patented the Kids' Cutlery Diet in Hollywood. According to her, eating in a nursery plate makes her feel like she is eating more than she really is. Pic/AFP Photo

A better alternative to crash and liquid diets is the new chopsticks diet. In Kimiko Barber's cookbook, The Chopsticks Diet, the author explores the benefits of Japanese cuisine, and presents 120 recipes that use traditional Japanese fare (rice, fish, soybeans, vegetables, seaweeds, fruits) in fresh, modern ways. The book reveals how one reason for elegant figures in the East, is their practice of eating with chopsticks. Eating with chopsticks slows you down, and so, you eat less. Gobbling food makes us overeat because it takes the brain 20 minutes to register that the stomach is full. Chopsticks naturally make us take smaller mouthfuls that instantly reduce the amount of food we eat; we chew more, which increases the flow of digestive juices.

What happens when you eat fast?

You consume more calories: A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2008 showed that women who ate slowly, consumed 70 fewer calories than those who ate rapidly. If food is eaten fast, there's not enough time for the hormones responsible for signaling that the body is full, to come into play.

There's increased risk of acid reflux and indigestion: A study presented at Digestive Disease Week showed that healthy volunteers who ate their meals in 5 minutes, experienced more heartburn and acid reflux than those who consumed their meal during a more leisurely 30 minute time interval.

You miss opportunity to relax and de-stress: A relaxed meal provides a break from an otherwise busy day, leaving you time to socialise.

To stay fit, learn to eat right

Hira Mahajan Nutritionist
EAT SLOWLY: It takes about 20 minutes for our brain to register that we are full. If we eat fast, we can continue eating past the "full" point.
ENJOY YOUR FOOD: It's hard to enjoy your food if it goes by too quickly. If you eat sinful foods (desserts, fried foods, pizzas) slowly, you can get the same amount of pleasure without eating
big portions.
BETTER DIGESTION: If you eat slower, you will chew your food better, leading to better digestion.
LESS STRESS: Eating slowly, and paying attention to your eating, is a great form of mind fullness exercise. Be in the moment, rather than rushing through the meal, thinking about what you need to do next.

7 hot tips from consulting dietician

Jyoti Lalwani Dietician
What we eat is important, but so is the timing, mental state, right combination of foods, speed of eating, and amount of fluids consumed.

>>Eat from quarter not full plate.
>>Take single servings. Don't sit at a table with dishes in front of you. Serve yourself from vessels on the stove or kitchen counter, and move away.
>>Using a teaspoon will help take smaller bites.
>>Don't eat just before going to bed.
>>Replace sugar drinks with water, coconut water, lime juice, buttermilk.
>>Invest in a non-stick pan.
>>Don't bring leftovers from the restaurant home.

How to eat with chopsticks?

>>Place one chopstick in the crook of your thumb and index finger. The chopstick should be at the base of your thumb, and your thumb should be about 1/3 the way down from the broad end of the chopstick.
>>Rest the chopstick on your ring finger between u00bd way and 2/3 the way down
the chopstick.
>>Place the second chopstick in your hand the way you would hold a pen. It should rest slightly on the tip of your thumb and be held into place with support from your middle finger.
>>Use your index and middle fingers to practice moving the tip of the
top chopstick up and down. The bottom chopstick should remain relatively still. As you move the top one down, the tip should meet up with the tip of the bottom one.
>>Imagine you are pinching something. If the tips aren't meeting up, adjust one chopstick so they do, because it will be difficult to pick anything up if the two chopsticks aren't evenly alligned.

Dos and don'ts of chopstick eating
>>Never leave your chopsticks stuck into a bowl of food. Put them on a chopstick rest.
>>Never eat with two chopsticks that don't match in material, colour and pattern. Mismatching chopsticks are used in funerary rituals.
>>Do not stick chopsticks into your food, especially not into rice. This is only done at funerals with rice that is put onto the altar.
>>Do not spear food with your chopsticks.
>>Do not move plates or bowls around with your chopsticks.
>>Use the opposite end to take food from a shared plate.