After a series of holidays, the reflection in the mirror is often not happy, and your favorite things literally burst at the seams. However, take your time to go fast and hang a lock on the refrigerator. After the holiday period is the best time for all kinds of changes, including in nutrition. Take on board 8 simple principles and in a short time you will get used to eating right.
Don’t Leave Hunger Chances
You need to start a meal when you get hungry, and not when someone calls you to the table — this is quite logical. However, you should not endure hunger for more than 20 minutes. After this period, you cease to control yourself and grab everything that comes to hand — sweets, sandwiches or fast food. In addition, a very hungry person will eat more than the norm. The optimal break between full meals is no more than five hours. In between, do not forget about «snacks» — a glass of kefir or an apple will help the metabolism to work smoothly.
Do not drink with meals
Drinking with food means disrupting the digestion process. If you are used to drinking food and cannot do otherwise, nutritionists advise sipping liquid in small sips. In this case, the total amount drunk should not exceed 1/3 of the volume of food. It is recommended to drink the first cup of tea or a glass of water no earlier than 1-1.5 after a meal.
Learn to combine foods
Some foods cannot be combined because they can cause bloating. For example, it is categorically impossible to use grapes, cabbage and milk together at one meal — they enhance the fermentation processes in the intestines by themselves. In addition, if you combine acidic foods (cranberries, tomatoes) with alkaline foods (milk), there is a high risk of indigestion. Other pairs of foods will inevitably be deposited on your sides and stomach. First, this applies to combinations of fats and carbohydrates. For example, a bacon sandwich or brownie and a cup of coffee with cream will inevitably turn into fat and deposit in the most inappropriate places.
Choose the right drinks
It is also very important to have the right approach to what you drink. For example, such drinks as tea, coffee, fruit drinks, compotes and juices are not combined with food. Maximum — simple desserts, such as marmalade, marshmallow or dark chocolate. Otherwise, they should be drunk half an hour before meals or 1-1.5 after. As for alcohol, if you drink wine during a meal, dilute it by 1/3 with water, and it is better to drink strong alcoholic drinks at the very end, as a digestif.
Chew food thoroughly
To begin with, it will be easier for the stomach to cope with well-chewed food. In addition, those who eat slowly are less likely to gain weight. The brain receives a signal of fullness only 20 minutes after the start of a meal. It has been proven that while a slow eater chews what he picked up with one fork, a fast eater will have time to send as many as three into his mouth! This way, by eating at a relaxed pace, you won’t eat too much or generate unnecessary calories. Yes, and the good old rule «you need to leave the table with a slight feeling of hunger» has not yet been canceled.
Use dessert plates
First, you simply cannot put a large amount of food on a small plate. Secondly, psychologically, it will seem that there is a lot of food. Thirdly, in order to put something else tasty, you will have to make some body movements. Using a large plate, you run the risk of cleaning up everything that will fit on it, because we were taught from childhood that it is a shame not to finish eating. So use a dessert plate instead of your regular one, and you’ll be eating 20% less than usual.
Don’t seize stress
Against the background of emotional experiences, it is very difficult to control anything, and therefore in the process of eating you run the risk of going overboard with calories. In addition, during stress, the body chooses unhealthy foods like a sandwich made from whole grain bread and boiled breast: hands are drawn to a chocolate bar or a cake with cream. This choice is usually prompted by a large amount of the hormone cortisol. To overcome a bad habit, try not to tolerate hunger. Well, and, of course, learn to enjoy not only food.
Don’t watch TV while eating
When you eat, it’s important to focus only on food intake, so turn off the TV, close the magazine, and reschedule the heated discussion of the news into the afternoon. Any external stimuli distract from food and often force you to eat more than required. It is also very important to listen to yourself: while you are hungry, you feel the bright and juicy taste of food. When satiety comes, the food becomes almost tasteless. This is a signal that it is time to stop.
Unfortunately, many people eat fundamentally wrong. Some are constantly chewing something, without feeling either hunger or satiety. Others, on the other hand, do not eat anything all day, and then pounce on food. Everyone remembers well the rule that you need to leave the table with a slight feeling of hunger, but in practice only a few are successfully used. In particular, due to the fact that they are more guided by companions or the amount of food that is on the plate.
There are several ways to solve this problem. First, try using a dessert plate, if this is not possible, put in exactly half of the portion that you would like to eat. Second, eat as slowly as possible and chew your food thoroughly. Well, those who are really not indifferent to their weight and health can use a kitchen scale and measure the prescribed amount of food to the nearest gram. In the future, you will learn how to determine the right portion «by eye».
