Interesting....

Did you know that, on average, an active person eats more calories than an overweight person? So, it's evident that you don't starve yourself to be fit! But in saying that, leave food on your plate if you're full.

For so long it's been drilled into our brains that we have to finish everything on our plate. I'm sure we've all been told by our parents as children to clear our plates before leaving the table, and that there are children starving in less-fortunate countries therefore we can't let any food go to waste. This has caused us to become completely out of touch with how we feel and how hungry we actually are. Think about it, us getting fat doesn't help the hungry.

Rather than paying attention to what hunger and satisfaction "feels" like and having the ability to recognize when we've actually eaten enough to replenish what was required, we now rely on our eyes to tell our brain when we're satisfied. We feel full when our plate is cleared, regardless as to how much food was served to us. We've been programmed to believe that we're not finished and still hungry long after we've taken in what our bodies needed.

I know it's tough when you've made a beautiful meal for your family and your kids seem more interested in watching TV or playing instead of eating, and it's tempting to say "not until your done" or "when you've finished eating". I think perhaps a better approach would be to tell them you're going to wrap up and refrigerate what they haven't finished (if a reasonable amount) and when they come to you an hour later hungry and wanting a snack, their only option is their left-overs. Let's not do to our children what's been done to us. Give them the chance to feel full before they end up relying on "seeing" when their full instead.

If anyone has anything to add, or requests for future topics, let me know!

Chew!

40 is the magic number when it comes to eating. A recent study I read about showed that when people were given nuts to eat, 40 chews resulted in feeling fuller than 10 or even 25 chews of the same portion of nuts. People who chewed longer also felt fuller for longer, which leads scientists to believe that it is simply the act of chewing that signals are brain to feel satisfied.

Another note on chewing, grab some gum! This article I was sent stated that chewing gum also helps you feel fuller for longer, which reduces hunger, cravings for sweets, and over-snacking. My vote goes to Five gum, which lasts longer than any other I've tried! And I'm a big gum chewer *wink*