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"Diets" Grains & Seeds Three
Bites II
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Portion Control is the key to losing weight without feeling deprived. If you want pancakes for breakfast, have 3 small ones with a little syrup. If you want shrimp scampi over linguini, put one small portion on a small plate (use a salad plate instead of a dinner plate) and don't go back for seconds. My husband has often observed that I eat very fast (so many overweight people do- look around the next time you are at a restaurant). His theory is that I am "full" before I realize it and keep eating until I'm stuffed. He's convinced that if I eat significantly slower, the food would have time to hit my stomach and send a signal to my brain that I am satisfied and I would naturally eat less food. I'm a very fast person.... I talk fast, walk fast, think fast.... slowing down my speed is definitely going to be a challenge. With that in mind I have been portioning out my food onto a small plate and just eating that amount. I do try to eat slower but I'm not nearly as slow as I should be. By waiting 10 minutes or so after eating the food on my plate, I realize that I really am satisfied and don't need any more. Whereas before I started this new way of eating I felt stuffed after at least 2 out of 3 meals each day, I now realize how great it feels to not have that feeling of total fullness. Being full really is uncomfortable! And I don't have that feeling of guilt about "over-doing it" which puts me in the mindset that I "cheated" and should count the day as a waste. That just leads to more overeating (I'll re-start my "diet" again tomorrow so I may as well have some chocolate today- how many of us have said those very words?). A friend of my family married a guy that spent 4 months in Italy while in college. He said the portions of food served there are so much smaller than what we are served here in the US. At first he felt hungry all the time but by the time he came home, he was accustomed to eating much less food. The meals he used to eat at home regularly were suddenly too much food for him upon his return from Italy. I'm hoping the same thing happens to me. When you think about it logically, you realize that if you stomach really is the size of your fist the average meal served at a typical restaurant is at LEAST three times that. Sometimes much more than that. That would mean that your stomach expands and stretches each time you eat a meal. I have been trying to visualize that when serving myself food and it has helped a lot. The fact that I pretty much eat what I want when I'm hungry makes it easy because I'm never too far from something delicious. If a coworker is celebrating a birthday, eat some cake but make it a small piece. There is no deprivation and no guilt so you won't feel like you used to when you were dieting. I feel free for the first time in my life and it's awesome. Last night my husband and I ordered a pizza for dinner. On my half I requested gourmet vegetable (lots of spinach and broccoli and zucchini which is healthy with a little bit of fried eggplant- the fried part not so healthy). I love the way my local guy does it- it's delicious. My husband had pepperoni and sausage on his half. I used to eat 2 slices of pizza for dinner which over time turned into 3. Way too much! I ate one of my veggie slices and took a little less than half of a slice of my husbands. After eating the 1/2 slice of pepperoni and sausage I realized I didn't really need it. I was actually satisfied with my one slice. I didn't feel full after eating it, but I was surprised at how little I really needed it (or even wanted it as I got through it). It was an eye opener for me. And my veggie slice was loaded with healthy vegetables so I know it was a meal that was good for me. Next time I'm just going to eat one slice and see how I fare. My husband used to chant, "if you want to lose weight it's simple: Eat less and move more". I used to get annoyed with him and would brush his comments off. I hate to admit it but he is absolutely right. I think if everyone realized what it feels like to not be full, they would know what it's like to be satisfied which in the end will make for a very happy person. One that shrinks. Here's a very interesting clip from the
Today Show on portions and calories when eating out. What an eye
opener!!!! http://video.msn.com/?mkt=en-US&brand=&vid=4d8564c2-b7c6-4c0b-9883-6187abd37a38
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Recipes:******************* Appetizers
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