– Eight helpful hints on eating less while staying full
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Eat Slowly
It takes your stomach about 10 minutes to signal your brain that it is full. So put your fork and knife down between bites and wait 10 minutes before serving yourself seconds. If you are still hungry have a second helping of veggies or salad.
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Drop out of the “Clean Plate” club
Always try to leave at least ¼ of your meal on your plate especially when dining out! It is always better to waste a little food than to over stuff your body.
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Never eat directly from a bag, box or carton
Whether you are eating take out or just a snack, serve yourself a portion and walk away from the container. Mindlessly eating out of a container often leads to consuming many more calories than planned.
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Like big portions? Then stick to the healthy stuff!
No one ever gained weight from eating too many veggies. So load your plate up with veggies or fill a large bowl with broth based soup and enjoy a larger portion. These foods are high in fiber and water, which fill you up on minimal calories.
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Go small
Instead of using a dinner plate serve your food on a 9-inch plate. Less space, means smaller portions. Ordering out? Always order the smallest size of high calorie options.
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Stash your leftovers
Before you sit down to a meal, put the leftovers away. This way going back for seconds will require effort.
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Choose single serve, 100 calorie packs or your freezer
Buy or make high calorie foods in single serving sizes. Instead of buying a bag of cookies buy the 100-calorie packs and freeze any tempting products like breads, muffins or pizza. Having to defrost additional servings requires conscious effort.
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Fruit for Dessert
If you are cutting back on your portions you may find yourself craving more food. Enjoy an apple, orange or even watermelon at the end of your meal to fill you up on fiber, water and natural sweetness.
