Tip #25 SLOW DOWN: The pace at which you eat influences how much you eat, as well as how likely you are to gain weight. In fact, studies comparing different eating speeds show that fast eaters are up to 115% more likely to be obese than slow eaters. Your appetite, how much you eat and how full you get is all controlled by hormones. These hormones signal your brain whether you’re hungry or full. However, it takes about 20 minutes for your brain to receive these messages, so eating more slowly would give your brain the time it needs to perceive that you are full. Studies have confirmed this, showing that eating slowly may reduce the number of calories you consume at meals and help you lose weight. Eating slowly is also linked to more thorough chewing, which has also been linked to better weight maintenance. Therefore, simply by eating slower and chewing more often, you can reduce your risk of eating too much and gaining excess weight.