80% Full...

In my quest to lose my remaining "baby weight," I'm always looking for simple things I can add or change in my daily routine to help boost my weight loss confidence.  Little things - things I can stick with - not the HUGE dramatic crazy things that people do to lose weight - things that are impossible to keep up and wind up being terribly frustrating instead.  

A good friend of mine lives in China and shared a bit of Chinese wisdom with me last summer.  She told me that the Chinese people only eat until they are "80% full."  At first I chuckled - 80% full!!??  But it makes total sense!!  Statistically, it takes something like 30 minutes for our brains to tell us that our stomachs are full.  Well, I don't know about anyone else, but I know I can cram several trips to the all-you-can eat buffet down my gullet in less than 30 minutes for sure - and what does that result in??  A terribly over-stuffed mama who swears, "I'll NEVER do that again!!"  In reality, though, once the hunger pains start screaming, our first instinct is to shut them up, right?  And, in the process, we end up with far more calories than we need.  

***RANDOM THOUGHT - serve your food from the pots, pans, or bowls on the counter directly to your plate before you sit down to eat - DO NOT put the meal directly on the table.  This reduces your habit of returning for seconds, or thirds, or, or, or...

Another funny tidbit about eating - did you know that when you are about 80% full, you naturally sigh - or take a deep breath!?  Another friend shared that with me and I have found, at least for myself, that it's quite true!!  If I pay attention when I'm eating and stop eating when I sigh, I've actually had enough to eat and I feel satisfied.  Now, I'm certainly not saying that I don't always "listen" to my sigh - often times I tell it to take a hike so that I can finish the remaining delectables on my plate.  In reality, though, my body DOES tell me it's satisfied and I just need to get my brain (and my stubborn independence) to agree.

So, here's my new plan:  I'm going to only eat until I'm 80% full - until I sigh that satisfied sigh - regardless as to whether there is still food left on my plate or not.  I'm confident that in time, I'll visually learn how much food it takes for me to get to my "sigh point" and will only put that amount of food on my plate, thus further reducing the temptation to over-eat.  

All of this is theory, mind you, but I figure it's just another one of those little things that couldn't hurt to try!!  So, here's to 80%!!!!