Have you ever noticed how long it takes most thin people to eat their meals? My sister was always the last one to finish her meal, and it drove the rest of the family crazy. We were sure it was her ploy to get out of clearing the table or doing the dishes! It was not until years later that I realized her slow eating is the secret to her trim figure.

Most Americans eat too fast, and, as a result, they take in too many calories before they realize they've eaten enough. It takes approximately 20 minutes from the time you start eating for your brain to send out signals of fullness. Leisurely eating allows ample time to trigger the signal from your brain that you are full. And feeling full translates into eating less.

Recent research presented at a meeting of the North American Association for the Study of Obesity showed that overweight men and women took in fewer calories when they slowed their normal eating pace. And a recent Japanese study involving 1,700 young women concluded that eating more slowly resulted in feeling full sooner, and thus eating fewer calories at mealtime.

It's especially important for people who have had gastric bypass operations to heed advice to eat slowly. A study of gastric bypass patients showed that those who ate too fast and failed to recognize the signs of satiety were less successful at losing weight than other patients.