Nutrition

Eat Small to Lose Big

Eat small to lose big

 

I was standing in line at the store when the latest issue of one of those sensational rags caught my eye.  You know, the kind where they feature an alien abduction or 100 pound tumor on the cover?  This issue featured slim secrets from the superstar Dolly Parton.  What was Parton’s secret?  She would sit down to a full country fried chicken dinner and eat only one bite from each item on her plate!

“Come  on!” I scoffed to my sister.  “Like that ever happens!”  I tossed the rag back in disgust.  “I’m hungry.  Let’s go to KFC”.

I have no idea if Dolly Parton actually only ate one bite from each item on her plate.  If she did, she was a master of control.  That’s certainly not something I would suggest to anyone who’s trying to lose weight.

[bctt tweet=”If you are a master of #control, chances are slim that you would have excess #weight.”]

There is a better solution to the one bite rule.  And, it is even easier than you think! Did you know that your taste buds get incrementally less satisfaction from any food after the third bite?

That’s right. Bite 1 is pure bliss. Bite 2 is still ecstasy. Bite 3 is still enjoyable, but not as urgent.

I’m not advocating that you follow in Parton’s footsteps and just eat one bite of each item on your plate. That sounds rather like torture to me.

What I am suggesting is you need to eat more frequently throughout the day.

Don’t think that will work? My biggest success at losing weight came when I ate at least 4-5 times a day.  Because I ate food throughout the day, I never got a chance to feel hungry.  When a person is not hungry, then they make smarter food choices.  Smarter food choices lead to less cravings and more weight loss.

Can you imagine eating all day long, and still losing weight?

You may be thinking I am crazy. After all, if you can barely find time to make 3 square meals a day, how on God’s green earth will you find even more time to whip up 2 more meals???

Don’t fret. Because you are eating more frequently, and are less hungry when you do eat, you tend to eat smaller portions. So, your typical idea of a meal will drastically change. This is built-in portion control at its finest!

Each “meal” is actually what most people would consider a snack.  Forget the big plate of pasta with garlic bread, wine, and salad.  Think instead of a salad and glass of wine. It takes a lot of awareness and planning to keep your meals that small, especially if you’re used to large plates of food. Did I mention I can help with that planning? Schedule a call HERE.

What does that mean for you? The average American woman needs somewhere between 1300-2000 calories a day to maintain her current weight. Losing weight takes about 200-500 calories less than that. If you break up 1500 calories into 5 different meals, that means that each meal is only 300 calories.

What might a typical 300-calorie meal look like?  Here are some easy options:

  • A serving of whole grain cereal with whole milk and blueberries
  • One egg on an English muffin with Canadian bacon
  • A chicken salad with spinach, vinaigrette, and cranberries
  • Hummus with veggie crudités
  • Lean steak with a baked sweet potato and steamed broccoli

 

Caution: The grocery stores are full of snack-size portions of everything from frozen vegetables to cookies.  While these controlled portions might help with reducing calories, quality of food should also be considered.  It is a proven fact that protein leads to higher levels of satiety (feeling full) than carbohydrates.

Luckily, there are sensible portions of protein snacks like hard-boiled eggs, string cheese, and yogurt.  Ditch snack-size carbs in favor of protein-rich foods.  Your body will thank you!

Diets suck because they’re all about deprivation. Imagine a diet where you are told to eat more, and still effortlessly lose weight!

Dolly Parton may have taken her success to the extreme, but it really is true that you can eat small to lose big.