Don't stop eating when you feel full...

STOP SOONER!

We all grew up thinking (or at least I did) that as long as we stop eating when we feel full, then we've done good. But something our elders failed to teach us, is that it takes a good 15-20 minutes for what you've eaten to register with your body....So by the time you start to think "Man, I feel full" you probably should've stopped 15 minutes ago! Yikes! (okay maybe not exactly...but you get what I'm saying!?!)
Surely I'm not the only one who, while sitting at a restaurant with friends, suddenly feels the need to be wheeled out in a wheelchair because I feel like I'm gonna be sick if I move. How many millions of times have I said to myself "WHY did you let yourself eat so much?" "I should've quit a LONG time ago!!" "Being a little bit hungry is a zillion times better than being over-full!" Ugh!

Well, now that I'm back to eating food for fuel rather than pleasure, and monitoring my portion sizes, I'm remembering what it's like to stop eating BEFORE I'm full. And its actually rather enjoyable. With this TurboFire nutrition plan, I never get that "FULL" feeling. Instead, I may actually leave the table still feeling like I want more. But that is your mind playing tricks on you!! Don't fall for it! Wait 15-20 minutes (or probably even as few as five minutes) and see how you feel. I almost ALWAYS feel satisfied. And THAT my friends, is what you're after!
And furthermore...are we really going to sit back and allow ourselves to be RULED by our feelings? EVEN IF I don't feel full OR satisfied, if I've just eaten an apple and 1 tbsp. of almond butter then I know I've had a very ample and nutritious snack and that is that. My feelings aren't going to dictate to me that I need more...and neither are my tastebuds. I'm the boss!! :)

Let's brainstorm some ideas of ways we can stop this over-eating phenomenon! Here are my top 10:

1) At home, ACTUALLY MEASURE your portion sizes. I know...you're dirtying up measuring cups that you'll have to wash. Boo! I agree. BUT...after a few times of doing this, you'll be able to eye-ball it and stay within recommended portion sizes. FYI: Your plate should be divided up into 3 parts. 1/2 is for veggies. 1/4 is for lean protien. 1/4 is for good carbs. If you're filling up your plate and thinking "this is never gonna be enough" that's okay. Just tell yourself that you'll eat this much to start with...then wait 5-10 minutes. If you're still hungry, you can refill the veggies half of your plate! :)

2) At a restaurant, split your entree with someone!

3) At a restaurant, ask the waiter to bring you a to-go box when he brings out your food and immediately put half in a container. Not only will you be getting 2 meals for the price of one, you will keep yourself from eating enough food for 2 people at one setting!

4) At home, eat off a smaller plate. It has been proven that we automatically FILL our plates. So it's pretty simple math that if you have a 10" diameter plate you'll fill it with less food than you would a 14" plate. I eat off the same plates my kids use a lot of the time.

5) Before any meal, drink a glass of water...and possibly even eat a snack. Especially when I know we are going out and I am probably going to be eating something not super-healthy, I will eat a banana before we leave or drink a large glass of ice water. You are taking up space with something healthy and therefore...you instantly have less room for chips and queso (or bread
and olive oil) or whatever your favorite appetizer food is!

6) At a restaurant: Seat yourself AWAY from the freebies. Or, move the freebies out of your reach. It is much less convenient to eat the free chips and salsa if you have to reach across the table everytime. When it's right in front of your nose, you will eat them mindlessly without ever noticing. You'd be AMAZED at how many tortilla chips ONE PERSON can put away when basket after basket are set down in front of you!!

7) Chew and chew and chew. Ideally, you will chew 20 times per bite. I've counted and tried this...and that is about 13 more chews than I normally do. Slow the heck down! Eat intentionally...and make sure your mind realizes what you're doing. I've actually been so busy some days that I had to mentally think and try to remember if I ate lunch or not!!!

8) Put your fork down! The majority of people load their fork for the next bite while they're still chewing the one they JUST put in their mouth. Watch around at restaurants. People everywhere will be chewing while they hold their fork a mere inch away from their mouth...just hovering there while they wait for the swallow and re-load. :) Put that fork down, drink your water, again...slow down. :)
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9) At a restaurant: Sabatoge your dinner. I don't personally recommend or use this technique because I don't believe in wasting...but if you just have to....ruin your food. When you've eaten an adequate amount, dump salt or sugar or salsa or whatever is handy on your plate on the remainder of your food. It's childish, yes...but hey, sometimes we gotta do what we gotta do! At least you will guarantee yourself that you won't just keep sitting there and picking at it!

10) Don't order your favorite entree. I know that sounds crazy, but if you order something that is healthy but isn't your favorite...the chances of you going over-board stuffing yourself are MUCH LESS. Matt always says when I'm cooking super-healthy "well, at least we'll be guaranteed to lose weight. Not only is the food healthy...but it's not very tasty so we aren't tempted to over-eat!" I know that is NOT a compliment :)...but he's right. It's a lot easier to leave steamed broccoli on my plate than it is crispy french fries!

So, do you have any other suggestions we can add to the list? I'd love to hear them!