A few secrets before we talk food.
It is very important to always have water available wherever you are that you can readily sip while working, talking, in meetings, in the car or even listening to others in talks. This eliminates so called “throat food” – food that we eat when we are actually thirsty.
Equally important is to have 3 meals a day with nothing in between, except for water.
To sit down and enjoy each meal as a “mini feast” – never eat when, standing, walking, driving or busy on the computer.
To eat slowly – the longer one chews food and keeps it in ones mouth, the more signals go from the mouth cavity to the brain signaling food intake and satiety. Thus the faster one eats the more you have to eat to feel satisfied.
Select what you are going to eat with each and every meal – make informed choices as to what you are going to feed your precious body. Remember no trade ins possible, nor is it possible to buy a new model!
A good, balanced and healthy rule to apply to each meal is the one-third, two-thirds rule …….. meaning never more than one-third of your plate animal material, while two-thirds of your plate must be plant material. The human body is actually designed to eat far more plant material than we do nowadays, and not all the processed, highly refined, foods that are so readily available.
A recent study in the US (Am J of Preventative Medicine) shows that the very best method of bringing down ones weight and BMI was not any of the millions of slimming products, slimming methods, slimming clinics etc, but instead by keeping a simple food journal. They showed that participants who kept a food journal six or seven days a week lost an average of 7 kg compared with an average of 3 kg lost by non-diary keepers. It is not just writing it down that counts, it is also about using that record to identify the eating habits that need to be modified. While most people think they know what they eat, they really only have a general idea and tend to have selective memory, especially when it comes to foods that are not good for us. With a detailed food diary you can see where those extra calories are coming from. Accurate daily recording in our food journal also makes us so much more aware of the enormous quantity of bits and pieces of food that we consume each day – way beyond what we believe we consume! The total volume also counts. There is another part of the food journal that really helps and works. Besides being honest and diligent by showing everything in the diary down to the last morsel you have eaten, is to be open and transparent with your diary and allowing your spouse, partner, children and all to view it. It is all about accountability. You may have thought of eating that extra cookie, but on second thoughts you do not want to show it up in your daily diary for all to see!