I'm a fast eater. While I doubt I can develop a slower chewing habit -- I've tried -- I came across a couple helpful tips to slow my eating pace over at FitSugar, and added one of my own.

A recent study found women downed fewer calories -- 70 less -- and felt more satiated when they ate at a slower pace. Seventy calories multiplied over time adds up to major pounds lost. Stop gulping, take smaller bites and chew more slowly. If you have trouble with those techniques like I do, try these:

• Put down your fork in between bites. Do not pick it up again until you've chewed and swallowed. If you're scarfing finger food, put down the slice of pizza until your mouth is clear.
  
• Eat with your non-dominant hand. I'm a righty and eat lefty. From experience, this helps.
• Use chopsticks! I'm not adept enough to eat fast with two sticks.

If you're still hungry after a reasonably-sized, healthy meal, wait a bit. It takes about 20 minutes for your stomach to signal the brain that you're full -- an eternity to a fast eater. Any other slow dining tips out there?

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With the lack of physical activity that most people's lifestyles are lacking, it's a good idea to pick up the pace and run, or at least speed-walk, to burn extra calories or just get moving. But there's one area where we should all learn to slow down -- eating.

I'm guilty of shoveling food down my gullet at record speeds -- with a busy lifestyle, I'm always thinking of where I need to be next. But it's a good idea to savor what you're eating. Also, by eating more slowly, you'll get full faster, and this will enable you to eat less overall.

But old habits are habits are hard to break. I'm going to make a conscious effort to chew each bite of food for at least 5 seconds before swallowing -- hopefully this will slow me down a bit. What about you?

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[That's Fit blogger Larissa Brown chronicles her journey to health and fitness through this regular weekly feature. Once a month she checks in with her fitness stats.]

• September 19
• Today's weight: 160 lbs.
• Up 1.5 pounds since August's check-in
• Pounds lost since June: 6
• Minutes it took to run my fastest mile this week: I don't even know

I've gained 2 pounds since the Hood to Coast relay, and I'm feeling a little lost.

Even this post is a day late. I normally blog the Road to Fitville on Tuesday. But what can a person say when her mouth is full of baked brie?