Its not what you eat, its how you eat

Its natural to eat when we are hungry and stop when we feel satisfied.   And its not rocket science to know that if we take in more calories than we need each day, we will gain weight.   However, we still go against our body's natural signals in the following ways….
1.  Many of us have been trained to eat everything on our plates – even if we are full
2.  We eat in a hurry so we can get back to work
3.  Our internal thermostat, which lets us know we are full, is overridden and eventually gets de-sensitised
4.  We stand at the kitchen sink and eat
5.  We multi-task when we eat and when we have distractions (tv, internet) we don't notice what we eat, or how much we are eating
6.  We have forgotten what “full” feels like.
 
Being full means “I am satisfied – that’s enough food for now”.
 
Our stomach can tell us when we are full and we can respond to its signals.   The way to do this is to remove all distractions, clear the table, sit down, slow down and focus on eating our meal.  When we are full there is a gentle, clear, satisfied sensation in the solar plexus area.   It tells us to stop eating now!

You will notice that once you are full, each subsequent bite is a little less enjoyable than the one before.   Pay attention and it  becomes obvious.    This is why conscious slow eating is so important.  Slow down.

Your solar plexus area gets more and more uncomfortable once you are full - put your food to one side and wait 15-30 minutes.   If still you feel hungry then, eat again.

Here’s the food scale:
1   I couldn’t fit another thing in
2   Overstuffed
3   Uncomfortable
4   Full
5   Comfortable and contented
6   Neutral
7   Slightly hungry
8   Hungry
9   The hoover
10 I am going to pass out

If we listen, the body can tell us what to eat and how much - its natural after all! By paying attention, we can easily recognise when we are full and stop eating.  

Elayne teaches Weight Loss classes.   Her next course on the 6th May Click here.

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