You probably already know that PGX helps you feel fuller faster, but you should also know that slowing down while you eat enhances your satiety even more, and offers additional benefits!  Do you even remember what you ate for breakfast this morning? Or were you in such a mad dash to get out the door that you just grabbed some mystery bar from the cabinet and called it good? We live in a fast-moving society, but it?s worth slowing down while eating. Taking your time to finish a meal has many benefits, and can be a huge factor in helping you succeed on your weight loss journey.

Here are the top five benefits of pacing yourself at the dinner table:

1. It helps prevents overeating. It takes your brain about 20 minutes to register that your stomach is full after a meal.  Many Americans can wolf down all the food on their plate in less than five minutes. That means there is a lot of extra time to refill that plate with second and third helpings before your body has a chance to realize it?s full. Take longer to eat your food and you?ll be less likely to overeat.

2. Chewing your food is a workout! Did you know you are burning calories by working your jaw and tongue to grind up your food? The longer is takes you to chew, the more of a ?workout? you are getting.

3. It?s a chance to relax. With your demanding work and family schedules, meals may be the only time of the day you have to actually sit down and relax in peace. Make it last as long as possible! Take a cue from many European cultures, where meals can last for hours. Friends and family sit around the table and eat, drink, and talk late into the night.

4. You make better choices. Eating slowly allows you to pay better attention to what you?re putting in your mouth, which will help you make healthier food choices. You can also taste your food more- meaning you can savor the flavor of that roasted sweet potato or the juicy pineapple chicken you just pulled off the grill.

5. It aids digestion. Slowing down gives your stomach time to start breaking down your food. If you send an entire meal down your throat in a matter of seconds, you could find yourself suffering from indigestion.

Learning to eat slowly may take a little practice. Try setting down your fork between bites or using smaller utensils. The less food you can fit on your fork or spoon, the less you can gobble up all at one time. You can also try eating with other pokey eaters. People have an unconscious tendency to imitate the people we are around, so sharing a dinner table with people who graze around their plate more may help you pick up the good habit.