Small wonder: Slow, small portions of flavorful foods will fill you up sooner.

RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—Eating the smallest of bite-sized foods, and eating them slowly, can help you eat dramatically less food, according to a new, small study published in this month’s American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

THE DETAILS: Researchers from the Netherlands found 22 healthy young adults who like chocolate custard and fed them different portion sizes of the food to determine if eating different bite sizes can impact how fast someone feels full. They also asked the participants to chew for three or nine seconds to see if chewing more slowly impacted how much they ate overall. The found that those who ate the smallest bite sizes, five grams, and chewed each bite longer, nine seconds, felt full sooner and ate 65 percent less food than those who ate 15-gram bites and chewed for only three seconds.

WHAT IT MEANS: The obesity epidemic is in overdrive in this country, putting millions of people at risk of developing obesity-related health problems like heart disease, type 2 diabetes, thyroid problems, and an increased risk of certain cancers, among other things. Regular exercise and a sensible meal plan are key strategies for weight loss. But if you pay a little more attention to how you eat, eat more slowly, and focus on smaller bites, you could start slipping into your jeans a little more easily. Plus, you’ll enjoy your food a lot more.

Here’s how to eat to feel full faster and lose weight: