Overeating? Not me.
Mom always told us to eat up all the food on the plate, since eating a variety of food makes us healthy.
We were good kids; we ate all the food served, and more.
Thirty years later, we are still good kids, and still eating all the food served and more, but somehow extra pounds hanging are around our bodies and we do not feel healthy.
One recent study indicates that it is not mom's fault, but due to our evolutionary past.
The study showed us that if we are served different types of food, we eat far more than when we are served a single type of food.
For example, people eat far more calories, if there is chocolate, pound cake, cheese cake, and cookies than if there is only a pound cake.
This makes sense, since our ancestors did not need to worry about over eating, but needed to worry about a lack of necessary nutrients.
In fact, even in the US it is less than 100 years that people have not needed to worry about famine (and still there are many countries which have food shortage problems now).
Here are some suggestions to avoid overeating based on this observation: Prepare all food in similar texture, taste, color, and shape.
The study indicates that people eat less food if the all the food has similar texture, taste, color, and shape, even if the ingredients are totally different.
On the other hand, they eat more if these qualities are different even if the ingredients are same.
Serve small portions of several different types of food with one of them being the main dish.
Many people enjoy meals, and do not want to lose the varieties on a table.
Serve half of usual servings as side dishes.
Add mashed potatoes, rice, pasta, fish, or meat as the main dish (but again not too much).
Eat one type of food at a meal, but serve different food for every meal.
You can eat variety of food, but at each meal, you eat only one type of food.
For example, serve a glass of non-fat milk with a piece of toast for breakfast, a fruit for mid morning snack, baked fish with small salad with non-fat dressing for lunch, non-fat yogurt for mid afternoon snack, brown rice with curry for dinner.
Eat a bowl of soup.
It is known that people feel more satisfied if they eat food in soup form.
In one study, scientists served a casserole with a glass of water to one group, and a bowl of soup of the same ingredient with same amount of calories and water to the other group.
The latter felt more satisfied from their meal.
Eat salad with everything in it.
Vegetables are, in general, very nutritional and very low in calories.
Mixing food which is high in protein, and/or carbohydrate into a salad makes food similar in taste, texture, and color.
You can mix, for example, meat with very spicy flavor so that you do not need to add any dressing at all.
Remove all unwanted food from your refrigerator and cupboards.
It is human nature to eat cookies that are in the cupboard and ice cream in the freezer.
We cannot help it! Throw them out.
If you do not have it, you cannot eat it.
I am not saying that you should not eat them at all, but saying that you do not want them at home.
If you want to eat an ice cream cone, go to an ice cream parlor and eat it there.
It is just too easy to eat ice cream from the freezer.
If you walk to the shop, you may actually burn more calories than are contained in ice cream cones.
Pile up the fruit.
Fruits are nutritious, sweet, tasty, and low in calories.
Except a few (e.
g.
banana, avocado, coconut - if you count these as fruits), you can eat them a lot.
Eat good meat and fish.
You definitely need good protein food, such as lean beef, chicken, and fish.
Just do not serve with too many side dishes, especially high carbohydrate food at the same time.
Instead serve with fresh vegetables.
Meat and potatoes are out of fashion; meat and fresh vegetable are in.
Use diet oriented nutritional drink or food bars.
Although I do not recommend this as a primary source of your daily meal, many people are far too busy to prepare meals themselves.
Some of the nutritional drinks are low in calories, but high in nutrition.
Since textures and tastes are similar (usually chocolate flavor), you feel satisfied with one serving.
If you are the type of person who is always on the go, this could be a choice.
Work out! You cannot replace a work out by eating less.
You want to trim extra calories, but you cannot replace your work out by doing this.
Working out makes your cardiovascular system healthy, bone and muscle structure strong, and keeps your brain healthy.
Besides, working out makes you less hungry, if you do it correctly.
Mom always told us to eat up all the food on the plate, since eating a variety of food makes us healthy.
We were good kids; we ate all the food served, and more.
Thirty years later, we are still good kids, and still eating all the food served and more, but somehow extra pounds hanging are around our bodies and we do not feel healthy.
One recent study indicates that it is not mom's fault, but due to our evolutionary past.
The study showed us that if we are served different types of food, we eat far more than when we are served a single type of food.
For example, people eat far more calories, if there is chocolate, pound cake, cheese cake, and cookies than if there is only a pound cake.
This makes sense, since our ancestors did not need to worry about over eating, but needed to worry about a lack of necessary nutrients.
In fact, even in the US it is less than 100 years that people have not needed to worry about famine (and still there are many countries which have food shortage problems now).
Here are some suggestions to avoid overeating based on this observation: Prepare all food in similar texture, taste, color, and shape.
The study indicates that people eat less food if the all the food has similar texture, taste, color, and shape, even if the ingredients are totally different.
On the other hand, they eat more if these qualities are different even if the ingredients are same.
Serve small portions of several different types of food with one of them being the main dish.
Many people enjoy meals, and do not want to lose the varieties on a table.
Serve half of usual servings as side dishes.
Add mashed potatoes, rice, pasta, fish, or meat as the main dish (but again not too much).
Eat one type of food at a meal, but serve different food for every meal.
You can eat variety of food, but at each meal, you eat only one type of food.
For example, serve a glass of non-fat milk with a piece of toast for breakfast, a fruit for mid morning snack, baked fish with small salad with non-fat dressing for lunch, non-fat yogurt for mid afternoon snack, brown rice with curry for dinner.
Eat a bowl of soup.
It is known that people feel more satisfied if they eat food in soup form.
In one study, scientists served a casserole with a glass of water to one group, and a bowl of soup of the same ingredient with same amount of calories and water to the other group.
The latter felt more satisfied from their meal.
Eat salad with everything in it.
Vegetables are, in general, very nutritional and very low in calories.
Mixing food which is high in protein, and/or carbohydrate into a salad makes food similar in taste, texture, and color.
You can mix, for example, meat with very spicy flavor so that you do not need to add any dressing at all.
Remove all unwanted food from your refrigerator and cupboards.
It is human nature to eat cookies that are in the cupboard and ice cream in the freezer.
We cannot help it! Throw them out.
If you do not have it, you cannot eat it.
I am not saying that you should not eat them at all, but saying that you do not want them at home.
If you want to eat an ice cream cone, go to an ice cream parlor and eat it there.
It is just too easy to eat ice cream from the freezer.
If you walk to the shop, you may actually burn more calories than are contained in ice cream cones.
Pile up the fruit.
Fruits are nutritious, sweet, tasty, and low in calories.
Except a few (e.
g.
banana, avocado, coconut - if you count these as fruits), you can eat them a lot.
Eat good meat and fish.
You definitely need good protein food, such as lean beef, chicken, and fish.
Just do not serve with too many side dishes, especially high carbohydrate food at the same time.
Instead serve with fresh vegetables.
Meat and potatoes are out of fashion; meat and fresh vegetable are in.
Use diet oriented nutritional drink or food bars.
Although I do not recommend this as a primary source of your daily meal, many people are far too busy to prepare meals themselves.
Some of the nutritional drinks are low in calories, but high in nutrition.
Since textures and tastes are similar (usually chocolate flavor), you feel satisfied with one serving.
If you are the type of person who is always on the go, this could be a choice.
Work out! You cannot replace a work out by eating less.
You want to trim extra calories, but you cannot replace your work out by doing this.
Working out makes your cardiovascular system healthy, bone and muscle structure strong, and keeps your brain healthy.
Besides, working out makes you less hungry, if you do it correctly.
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