No matter what kind of diet you are on whether it’s Trim advantage, South Beach, or one of your own planning you need to eat less calories and expend more energy to achieve your goal of losing weight. The best strategy is to be the slowest guy/gal at the table. In general it takes 20 minutes to realize how full you are. Here are four tips to finishing last at mealtime:
- Left Is Right - If you are a right-hander you know that something as simple as zipping up a coat can take twice the time to do if you use your left hand. Same thing applies for a fork and knife. Try eating with your left-hand (vice versa if left-handed) and you’ll be guaranteed to eat slowly.
- Stick It To ‘Em - Eat an entire dinner with chopsticks, even if it’s not Asian food. You will know when you are full before it’s too late. Try this at home first.
- Talk More-Taste Less - Your mother taught you not to talk with your mouth full so do just that- talk. Having a good conversation with a meal will stretch out the meal (a Jody Victor suggestion) and you’ll know you’re full before you overeat.
- Drink and Dine - While dining, try taking a sip of water with every bite. This will keep you from gorging and the extra liquid will help you feel full faster.
- Small Treats - When at home or out to eat - always have something sweet at the end of your meal (a Jody Victor suggestion). The sweet taste tells your body it's the end of the meal and satisfies your sweet craving. Just a little bit, though. One piece of chocolate, one cookie, or one scoop of icecream. When dining out, get dessert and share it or just take three small bites and leave the rest.
All the Best!