Principle #5: Respect Your FullnessLearn how to eat to be satisfied, without over doing it. There are several ways to walk away from a meal fulfilled, without needing to loosen your belt a notch, or feeling sluggish and weighed down.
First of all, eat at the first signs of hunger (principal #2), instead of waiting until you are starving. If you wait until you are ravaged with hunger pains, your eyes are going to be larger than your stomach. Eating at the first signs of hunger will help you to make smarter decisions and be able to gauge your level of hunger better.
Eat slow, and make sure you chew each bite completely. So many people rush through their meals, eating while still at their desk working, going through the drive-thru and eating in the car, or in front of the TV. When we engage in this mindless eating we tend to ignore the signs our body is sending us telling us we are full. When we rush through a meal, our body doesn't have time to send out the signals that we have ate enough. The best way to eat is to enjoy our meal, set aside enough time to eat, remove outside stimulants such as driving or television. Chew each bite completely before swallowing, instead of taking the next bite before the previous one is even finished. Pause half way through your meal so that you can gauge how full you really are, before eating more than you need.
Learn how your body feels when it is full, the only sign shouldn't be that your pants have gotten tighter. Pay attention to how you body reacts when it is satisfied, acknowledging the subtle clues your body is giving you. You might be surprised to find that when you listen to your body, it will actually tell you when to have your last bite, respect that feeling. Know when to push away your food, or ask for a box, this will help you enjoy the feeling of pure satisfaction after a meal and avoid the uncomfortable fullness.
Pura Vida!
Alica Ryan, NTP
No comments:
Post a Comment