A Few Less Bites
Could you leave these two bites of sandwich behind?
My best friend in college was one of those people who hardly ever finished her plate. She was a cute, petite, blonde, blue-eyed girl (still is!) and she just naturally would stop when she had enough to eat. Because she eat smaller portions she was hungry more frequently. People would sometimes comment on how they saw her eating so often but she was able to maintain her petite figure and they couldn’t figure out how.
In our society, we are constantly faced with large portions. We are also constantly faced with food everywhere we turn—every party, reception, sporting event, and even a lot of business meetings. We eat when we aren’t hungry just because we see or smell food. We have lost our natural in-born ability to stop when we are satisfied and we often eat to fullness or even over-fullness.
The difference for me between being satisfied, full, and over-full is a matter of a few bites. We had pizza the other night and I always have the dilemma of whether I should have one last piece. I love pizza, it is one of my favorite foods. When I am faced with a good pizza it is hard for me to say no, especially when there is just one piece left and it is not as good the next day. That extra piece of pizza crosses me over from being satisfied to feeling over-full.
If you are struggling with weight loss, or simply want to prevent gaining weight, here is a solution. I know many people are sick of “diets” and reading the latest diet book or getting confused counting their calories, carbs, fat, etc. So let’s keep it simple.
Eat a few less bites. Don’t worry about what it is you are eating, simply eat less of it.
Your next meal, leave a few bites behind. I know your mom told you to clean your plate, but really, where is the food going to go if you eat it all when the excess is going to make you over-full? I will give you a hint…it is not going to starving children in any third world country. It is only depositing itself in an unattractive manner to soften your stomach, doubling that chin, or worse yet, adding thunder to those thighs. Sorry if this sounds harsh, but it is true.
Bottom line
Eat to satisfaction instead of fullness, and very rarely (if ever) eat to over-fullness. You will have more energy. You will feel better about yourself. And, most importantly, you may even lose weight!
Photo of bite of sandwich courtesy of jeffreywithtwof'sLabels: maintaining weight loss, portion control, Tara Gidus
5 Comments:
At Mon Aug 27, 02:48:00 AM 2007,
Anonymous said…
how true are your words, my mum always spoke about these starving people, i was always made to eat all my food, now, i do struggle with weight, i'm only a size 14 but sometimes it would be nice to get down to a 12 again, no diet works for me, so this i will try and yes i will keep you informed.
thanks Janis
At Mon Aug 27, 11:59:00 AM 2007,
Anonymous said…
I lost weight this way a few years ago. Unfortunately I have gone back to eating more because I love to eat good food. For me the good food has gotten more gourmet and more calorie-laden as the years go on. I need to cut the quantity again. It does work.
Jean
At Tue Aug 28, 04:14:00 AM 2007,
seema said…
A word of advice from someone who's done it.
EAT LESS MORE OFTEN.
I lost 23 kgs in the past 1 1/2 year doing just that.
I take a glass of milk, fruit or fresh fruit juice every 2 hours, as well as have regular lunch and dinner.No sweet or fried food. Plenty of salads and vegetables.
In short, I put in something healthy every 2 hours.
At Tue Aug 28, 05:28:00 AM 2007,
Anonymous said…
I couldn't agree more! Your comment reminded me of one of the Executives in Burmah-Shell, Karachi, where I worked for 20 years before migrating to Perth.
He was very fit and healthy, without being over-zealous about diets, and I vividly recall his advice: "leave the table while you are still a little hungry!"
At Wed Dec 05, 06:32:00 AM 2007,
Anonymous said…
"You will feel better about yourself. And, most importantly, you may even lose weight!"
Priorities?
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