I don’t mean the kind where your tongue hangs out. I mean when your belly hangs out!
The weekend is here and you are going to get those temptations again. Go ahead. Eat out. Enjoy your meals. Just don’t eat it all at one sitting. The reality is that food portions in the US have increased over the past 20 years. It’s helped to contribute to the obesity epidemic. Or it’s an excuse for it. But either way, restaurant portions are often much more than you should eat at one sitting. So here’s a trick. Order what you want. But have them splt it in the kitchen before it’s sent out to you. Have them go ahead and put half in a to-go box. You’ll have a filling meal and then have another one with your favorites later in the week. Just take it home and pop it in the freezer. That way you won’t waste anything and you won’t WAIST anything either.
TODAY: HAVE HALF OF ANY RESTAURANT MEAL PREPARED TO GO.
Have you ever read the instructions on the shampoo bottle? Or do you already follow the “wash, rinse, repeat” mantra? Well do you know how that came about? The truth is that you only need to wash once. The concept of doing it twice came from the P&G marketing department decades ago. Why? Well it’s simple. Because you use twice as much, it doubles their shampoo sales!
What does that have to do with dieting? Eating seconds does the same thing to your calorie intake. You really DON’T need seconds after you finish a plate. The logic continues that if you eat twice, you get twice the calories. YOU DON’T NEED THOSE CALORIES!
So if the urge to go back for more hits you, step away. Go take a shower and wash your hair… ONCE.
TODAY: STOP HAVING “SECONDS”.
Tags: calorie reduction, diet advice, diet and calories, diet portions, eat smaller portions, eating healthy, eating less, how many calories to eat, Reducing Calorie Intake
Daily Nag, Food Choices | Diet Nag | 
October 25, 2010 6:32 am | 
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The American Institute for Cancer Research found that 67% of Americans eat everything on their plates, regardless of size. So you could use a smaller plate! I know you’ve heard that trick before. But the fact is that by watching portion sizes you can cut the most calories the quickest. That means you literally lose weight by doing nothing more than eating single servings of your favorite foods instead of eating as much as you can.
TODAY: ERASE THE TERM “ALL YOU CAN EAT” (AYCE) FROM YOUR VOCABULARY.
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition recently talked about a team of nutrition researchers that concluded that whether you are eating the “three” or “six” meals daily, weight loss ultimately comes down to “how much energy (or calories) is consumed as opposed to how often or how regularly one eats.”
Okay I’ve talked about tis before, It’s the same equation for weight loss and maintenance: Calories “in” = Calories “out”. So this means that eating five or six small meals a day helps us to:
- Burn more total calories by the end of the day
- Eat fewer total calories at the end of the day
So keep the “meals” small and frequent.
TODAY: CONTINUE GRAZING THROUGH YOUR DAY.
You may think that by eating only a couple of times a day you are “dieting” and should lose weight. Well, that’s not how our bodies work. If you starve yourself your body goes into survival mode and actually stores energy the next time you eat. Now how do you suppose it “stores energy”. It recharges your fat batteries, that’s what it does. It slows your metabolism to use less food and puts some away for later.
You should eat five or six small meals a day that are no more than three hours apart. It will kep your metabolism in high gear, your hunger in check, and your blood sugar even. Your mood will be better and you won’t be tempted to overeat at the meals. In other words, eat more (often) to eat less.
TODAY: START EATING SEVERAL SMALL MEALS A DAY.
You need time to fill up when you eat your meals, so eat with friends and start talking. If you’re talking you can’t be eating. Unless you have no manners and talk with your mouth full. That 20 minutes you need to feel full will come around and you will have eaten less. So carry on a good conversation to carry around less weight.
TODAY: SLOW DOWN YOUR MEALS.
I ate at one of those “New American Cuisine” restaurants a while ago where the plates are large and the portions are beautiful but small. I’ve also noticed that those places also make a meal an event by drawing out the service over an hour or more. I ate well, though not much and it turned out I was full. It was the perfect demonstration of what you may have heard before. Namely, you won’t feel like you’ve had a satisfying meal until your brain tells you. It turns out that it takes 20 minutes until your stomach sends that signal. So slow down, even take a break mid meal to let the time pass. You’ll find that you will feel full on less. Maybe try eating with someone you like to talk with and share in conversation rather than calories. Your life will be fuller too.
TODAY: SPEND AT LEAST 20 MINUTES EATING YOUR MAIN MEALS.
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