How to eat

Eat slowly
It takes time for your stomach to signal your brain that you are full. Recently, a team of scientists determined that it takes at least 10 minutes for a feeling of fullness to be processed by the brain. It may take even longer for people who are significantly overweight because extra pounds may impair or damage this message system. Note the time you start eating, and make an effort to make your meal or snack to last at least 10 minutes long.

Eat at the table
It’s far too easy to eat as you move through your day. When was the last time you saw a new car without a cup holder? A mall without a food court? A bookstore that didn’t offer coffee and cake? Quit eating in the car, munching in the lounge chair in front of the TV, and snacking in bed, and you can save hundreds of calories a day.

Leave serving dishes in the kitchen
Getting up for seconds requires more time and effort than reaching for a spoon. This simple habit creates a pause in the meal that might be just long enough for you to realize that you’re not actually hungry!

Eat from plates, not packages
Nibbling from a package of chips or spooning ice cream directly from the carton is a recipe for overeating. Use a plate, serve out a portion, and put the package away.

Quit the clean plate club
Over 50% of adults clean their plates, even when they’re full. At first, make an effort to leave a few bites on your plate. As time goes on, you’ll get better at "hearing" your body’s signals and it will be easier to stop when you’ve eaten enough.

Resist the "Now I’ve blown it!" syndrome
No one is perfect, and one dessert or one bag of chips did not make you overweight. It was one large meal after another, one too many desserts, and far too many bags of chips. All too often, when you are trying to lose weight, you either stick to your diet strictly or you blow it completely. This all-or-nothing approach rarely works because you spend more time cheating and feeling guilty than trying to establish new thin habits. Don’t waste time feeling bad. Just re-institute thin habits and get going in the right direction again.

Keep food out of sight and out of reach
Candy dishes, cookie jars, and open bags of chips on the counter all spell temptation. Put food and snacks out of sight, in covered containers, so you can’t snatch a snack spontaneously. Purge the house of your hidden reserves -- peanuts in the den, cookies in the night stand, candy in the desk drawer. Keep all food in the kitchen.

Measure don’t pour
Butter, sour cream, sauce, gravy, mayonnaise, salad dressing, syrup, cocktail sauce, tartar sauce, and ketchup can add calories quickly. Spoon out a small serving and put the container away.

Chew, it’s satisfying!
Foods that require a lot of chewing slow down eating and give your brain time to recognize you’re satisfied. Try shredded wheat, raw fruits and vegetables, vegetable-packed soups, fresh cherries, grapes, watermelon, pomegranates, steamed artichokes, unbuttered popcorn, pretzels.

About the authors.

Get Skinny the Smart Way is available at your local bookstore or at Amazon.com.