Finally Eating Less!
You know the past few days represent the first time i have had even initial success eating less. I don't know what happened but it seems it is easeier than it has been in the past. Here are my new strategies ..........
1. Eat soup with dinner. Of course there is no way I have time to make any, so I bought some low sodium veggie soups to re-heat. This seems to be Ok and filling and add a little extra fiber and vitamins. -- from the bikini bootcamp book
2. Split up your meal (at least ones that make sense based on your schedule) I tend to eat breakfast in phases, like cereal first and then fruit 2 hours before lunch. I was going to eat it anyway, but now I just saved half for the time I was about to have a snack. -- you save calories on your snack and cut the morning hunger. Or do the same with lunch. Or have dinner with course. Eat the vegtable (salad or whatever) course while your dinner is finishing up on the stove. Then fix your plate, make your beverage and start eating. At this point you will instantly start your dinner 10-15 minutes after the 1st course. If you eat a little slower, you'll be only a few bites into dinner when your belly starts to get those "i'm feeling full signals" and you'll have a better sense on how much more to eat.
3. The eat more fiber trick. I finally believe it, it works. I just try to sneak in extra veggies with lunch. An sneak some beans in too. Like 1/4 of a cup in my rice or with my meat.
4. Low fat -- Ha! I think that you need some fat to be satisfied, so I increased the fat of my breakfast by topping the cereal with chopped almonds or something. I make sure every meal has a good fat component with nuts or finishing the meal with olive oil -- at least 10 grams per meal. Even breakfast. That will still put you in a health range, as alond as you avoid the trans and saturated fats. Nuts are easy.
5. Fool your brain with a variety of textures at each meal. I think sometimes your brain is looking for satiety from each meal. You can try to incorporate all of the major flavor components in your meal like: sweet, salty, sour, bitter, crunchy, spicy, smooth, chewy. If you put all of those in your meal, there isn't anything left to crave. :)
6. Close dinner (or dessert) with a fruity tea. Adding a new habit to tell your brain food time is over. And well tea has antioxidants.
Getting Started
Cutting calories is hard, so starting slow is a great way to get momentum. You can try to lower your calories slightly, every 3 days by 50 calories or so. In no time you'll be down to your target!