Here’s a quick riddle for you… It’s everywhere because almost everyone wants it. Yet, most never achieve it. What is it?

Weight loss.

You can’t flip through the pages of a magazine or the channels on cable TV without being bombarded by advertisements for “new,” “breakthrough,” “Miracle,” etc. weight loss solutions.

Maybe you’ve tried some of these “quick and easy” solutions, and maybe one word sums up the way you feel…

FRUSTRATED!

So, is there anything out there that actually works?

The first thing to understand: there are no overnight “miracles.” The hard truth: the REAL secret to weight loss is doing the right things… consistently… for the rest of your life.

Doing the right things will cause you to lose weight but as soon as you stop and go back to your old ways, the weight will come back, and come back with a vengeance… so will the frustration.

That’s why the best way to lose weight is to become well-educated on the subject. The internet has a frightening amount of information, some good – and a lot bad.

That’s why your best option is to talk to a healthcare professional who has already helped many others and can short-cut the process for you, too.

That being said, researchers have found when people eat quickly, they end up consuming more calories than they would have if they ate more slowly. In fact, according to a new study referenced in a February 10, 2010 New York Times article, “scientists found that when a group of subjects were given an identical serving of ice cream on different occasions, they released more hormones that made them feel full when they ate it in 30 minutes instead of 5.

The scientists took blood samples and measured insulin and gut hormones before, during and after eating.

They found that two hormones that signal feelings of satiety, or fullness —glucagon-like peptide-1 and peptide YY — showed a more pronounced response in the slow condition.”

This means you eat LESS. The New York Times article also mentioned a study done by the American Dietetic Association in 2008 that reported subjects felt more full and consumed 10% less calories when they ate slowly as opposed to “wolfing” down their food.

And, a study in The British Medical Journal stated those who ate quickly and until full had triple the rate of being overweight compared with others.

What Does All This Mean For YOU?

This research simply suggests if you eat slowly you are likely to feel more full and consume less calories.

No, it’s not a weight loss miracle. But, feeling full is nice, and eating less calories – over the long run – will lead to weight loss and greater health.

If you think this isn’t a big deal, please remember: little hinges open big doors. It’s the accumulation of small things done consistently over time that leads to great success.

In other words, stop looking for the big home run and start hitting singles. And, educate yourself as much as you possibly can. If you have any questions, your doctor of Chiropractic can help… so don’t hesitate to call and ask!