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"Half this game is ninety percent mental." - Philadelphia Phillies manager, Danny Ozark.
To read part 1 of this article click here.
We ended last time with the image of only eating half of your expensive restaurant dinner. This brings up the issue of our abhorrence of wasting food and money. So many of us were brought up to “eat everything on your plate – there are people starving in xyz country”. You need to reprogram yourself. Putting that food in your stomach when you do not need it is worse than putting it in the garbage. If you cannot save it for another meal, throw it away! This also goes for leftovers. DO NOT eat those 5 extra bites that are too little to save. Again, they will do better in the compost than in your stomach. Ordering a half portion meal at the restaurant often costs significantly more than half the full portion. However, think of all the money you will be spending (or saving) on diabetes medications. In the long run, the half portion is a bargain.
The next strategy involves time. If we were designed, the designer played a cruel joke upon us for we feel satiated about 15 minutes after we are full. Think about all the food you can eat in 15 minutes. Slowing down the rate of intake is an amazingly powerful strategy to battle overeating. When sitting with family, eat slowly and have a conversation. This is good at many levels. Metabolically, you are slowing down food intake and this gives the blood stream time to process all of the sugar and the stomach time to register that it really is full. Consider the meal an event that you really want to experience. If you like the food, then really taste it. You cannot taste it by just shoveling it in; chew it and savor it. Interestingly, you will find that as you continue to eat something you taste it less and less. This is because your taste buds desensitize fairly quickly. A common response is to eat faster because somehow, we think, this will bring back that sensation that we just had at the beginning of the meal. If you are really experiencing the moment, you will train yourself to prefer to end the meal at that point rather than overeat.
Another strategy involves frequency. It is often said that 6 small meals is much better than 3 big ones. One of the reasons for this is that when you eat 6 times a day, you aren’t ever really hungry. It is when you are starving that all hope of discipline flies out the window. A meal could mean an apple or those 5 bites of leftovers that you didn’t eat last night. Save the sit down meals for family but do eat a couple of healthy small meals during the day rather than one large lunch.
Since the goal of eating is to feel full it helps to understand what causes us to feel full. Stomach distension is part of it. High fiber foods expand like crazy in the stomach and so make you feel full. Eating a high fiber breakfast cereal, for example, is an easy way to accomplish this in the morning. Fruits are high in fiber. Vegetables are also high in fiber. If necessary there are fiber pills that can be taken with lots of water.
Many people really do not like vegetables and all of the exhortations in the world will not help. Perhaps you could try mixing your meat with your vegetables. The juices of the meat coating the vegetables might make them much more palatable and even enjoyable. Stir fry is a great way to mix meat and vegetables. Stews, soups, and chili lend themselves to combinations of beans, vegetables, and meats. Even a salad can be made with meat. Remember that the portion size for your meat is the same volume as a pack of playing cards. Use that meat to flavor a big pile of vegetables. You might find them much easier to eat and they are your ticket back to health.
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