It’s been proven in research studies that the way overweight people and thin people behave with food are completely different, as a general rule. For instance, studies have shown that at a buffet table thin people tend to sit facing away from the buffet while overweight people tend to face it. There are many other differences, so if you’re trying to change your behavior with food, here’s some items to work on that will help.
Chew your food slowly. Chew 30 times per bite. Nope, it doesn’t affect your calorie consumption but it sure slows you down, which gives you time to feel full when you actually are full, rather than eating past the point of ‘just full’ to ‘stuffed’.
Put your fork down between bites. Feel free to converse (at length) with your dining companion between bites. Again, another tactic to slow yourself down.
Use smaller plates, and don’t fill your plate to overflowing. Go back for seconds if you are absolutely not full enough after your first helping, don’t assume you need a full plate to start off just to get full.
If eating out, do not have conversation while your mouth is full. Make your companion wait for the answer to that question until you’ve chewed completely and swallowed. They’ll wait, and its worse manners to talk with your mouth full than it is to make them wait anyway.
Don’t finish everything on your plate. I’m actually surprised quite often when dining with my thin friends just how often and how much they leave on their plates, because they’re “full enough”. Practice this one. If you leave food behind it will not help the starving kids in China, as your parents may have led you to believe as a kid.
Eat only when actually feeling hungry. You’d be surprised how much mindless munching our society is guilty of. Don’t eat in front of the TV (unless its celery!) or while reading. Eat only when you can pay attention to what you’re eating and how you’re eating it. Before you actually decide you are hungry, try drinking a large glass of water first. Sometimes hunger can be confused with thirst.
Here’s an obvious one: snack only on healthy items like fruit and vegetables or plain air popped popcorn, not chips and candy.
There’s a few items for you to work on mastering. Once you’ve got these traits in your own repertoire you’ll be eating like a thin person, and well on your way to becoming one.
For more cool info on this subject, check out this article:
The Facts About Starvation Mode
