Need help with helpings?
Written by Kathryn Savage
You’re not alone!
Is it what you eat or how you eat it, that makes the biggest dent on weight, health and longevity? In a recent survey, more than half the participants believed that what you eat makes a bigger difference than how you eat. Blue Zones research proves otherwise. It’s not what, but how, that might positively affect weight, health and longevity.
Okinawans eat on small dishes to remind themselves to stop eating when they are 80% full. The problem for me is I have a inner fat man that won’t let me stop until he’s had his full. And he prefers to eat to 110% percent satiety. So what to do if you, like me, aren’t as disciplined as Okinawan elders? Here are three simple tricks to downsize servings without loosing your mind.
Downsize Dishes - eat less by eating ... less.
As much as this sounds like it won't work for you, I've found first hand that eating out of smaller bowls, off of smaller plates and using - seriously - chopsticks is a great way to dramatically downsize portions. You’ll have to eat less and if you want more food it becomes a conscious, rather than passive, decision. You're not avoiding what's on your plate and you may still be hungry, but you will have given yourself a moment to stop, think about it, and determine if the hunger is emotional or physiological. Remember, on average it takes about 20 minutes for the belly to send the brain a memo that you are in fact satisfied.
Don’t Buy It - swap the bad for the good.
Tame temptations by removing the temptress. Love, love, love chocolate? Great! So do a lot of people; a great way to eat the treat and enjoy the company of friends and loved ones is to pick a night this week and make it a party! Grab dinner with your family, friends, coworkers and treat your table to a rich, dreamy chocolate fudge torte with vanilla bean ice cream and a velvety reduction sauce. Enjoy and share the wonderful flavors. But don't bring it home. Replace chips with heart healthy pistachios. Replace cookies with decadent, fiber-rich dates and keep the super rich gooey stuff out of sight and out of mind.
Count Em! Calorie-counting helps you understand what's going into your body.
Curb mindless eating by understanding the relationship between calories and serving sizes. Get to know the recommended serving size and calorie amount in your favorite foods before you indulge. Just because nuts are good for you doesn’t mean a whole bag won’t pack a high calorie dent, negating the positives by overwhelming you will way too many calories than you could ever burn in a given day. You don't need to become obsessive but check the back of the bag, go to websites like Calorie King (www.calorieking.com) and start to understand the relationship between calories and servings.
So Fresh and So Clean, Clean - Brush after eating to keep from repeating.
Brush your teeth, floss, chew sugar free gum. Rid your mouth of munchie afterglow and you will be less tempted to go back into the kitchen for just one more.....
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
For lunch I make a nice fruit smoothie with a beautiful Roma or macintosh Apple.
and dinner I do the 80% full mentality, usually fish or poultry..with loads of veggies.
Excercise I do a 2 1/2 sometimes 3 mi power walk/Jog for 45 min, 30 min of DDR the fast stuff that burns more, and a good set of calestetics (35 to 45 min).
My age? 18...Start early folks you'll live longer and happier.
Oh and take fido out for an early morning jog or your kids out to the playground you'll find you get loads of excercise and I find early morning calestetics or streatching gets me moving for the day.