Healthy B.P.M.

Please stop the all or nothing mantra when it comes to eating and weight loss. Just because something tastes good doesn’t mean you can’t eat it or that you have to eat all of it at one time. And while we’re on the subject, the concept of mini meals is somewhat mistaken; I think. In the minds of many it means a couple of carrot sticks, and apple and a meager piece of protein. I believe - I know a way more conducive to real life and one that will take the edge off most of your cravings. Curious aren’t you?

Think back a couple of posts to the one on overeating. Stretching your stomach beyond capacity routinely throws off your satiety signal. Hmm, you forgot that one right? Ok here’s the recap. Your stomach has a biochemical mechanism in place that signals your brain when you’ve had enough. Overeating messes up that connection. Got it? Alright let’s move on. Mini meals allow that smooth sailing signal to travel freely. In the meantime you’re learning portion control, dropping pounds and feeling satisfied. Are you wondering how dropping pounds plays into the equation? Smaller meals rev up your metabolism and make it more efficient at burning calories. Overload your plate and your belly and you sloooowwww down your metabolism. Who wants a sluggish moving at a snails pace metabolism?

Now here’s where it can be a bit tricky so here me out. Suppose you fix a big dinner with all your faves included, yes dessert too. Serve yourself a tablespoon of each dish and the smallest sliver of cake or pie. Take your time while you’re eating. Enjoy the conversation, and the ambience. Doing this allows that satiety signal to do its thing uninterrupted. Finish the mini meal and you’re done for another 3-4 hours. When it’s time to eat again you do the same thing, maybe this time you pick only one or two things instead of the whole menu, and I hope you’ve included fibrous veggies and some whole grains. Keep in mind that one of the goals is also to eat healthy to be healthier. The veggies and whole grains will help to lower the glycemic index of some of the not so healthy foods.

Learning to eat less is the key. Get lost in the taste of the smaller portion on your plate; tell yourself that you can have another mini meal later. No one is going to take it from you. One more thing; don’t go overboard with the fatty and calorically dense foods. A little indulgence combined with the healthy stuff will satisfy you, get the metabolism fired up and put you on the fast track to a healthy body weight. Then you can cross worrying about your weight off your to-do list.