Eating Healthy

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• Choose an eating plan that you like.  If you make your plan too hard to follow (lots of foods that you don't like or won't fix) then that's not a good plan for you. 

• Drink a cup of clear soup before preparing lunch and dinner.  This will help you feel full sooner.  Choose soups like tomato, chicken broth, etc.  Don't pick creamy soups.  

• Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day.  This will also help fill you up.

• When you're eating only eat.  Don't watch TV, don't read, don't snack as you prepare a meal.   When we're distracted we eat more without realizing it.   

• Eat lots of fruits and vegetables.

• Don't drink alcohol.  It has lots of empty calories.

• If you absolutely must have your favorite rich food, it's okay to  have it occasionally.  This will keep you from craving it.  But only eat a very, very small amount.  Don't allow yourself to do this more than once a week.  It's too easy for a small taste every few days to turn into a big taste every few hours.   

• Don't reward yourself with food.  If your goal is 50 pounds you could decide to reward yourself for every 10 pounds you lose.  Don't treat yourself to a big dessert for reaching your 5 pounds, give yourself something else like a trip to the movies or a CD you've been wanting.  Whatever is meaningful and feels like a reward to you that isn't food, then that's what you should treat yourself to.

• Watch your portions.  This society tends to supersize everything.  This isn't good if you are trying to lose weight.  Eat your dinner on a salad plate instead of a regular dinner plate.  This will help you better judge your portion sizes.

• Don't keep the food dishes on the table when you eat.  It's too easy to see it and help yourself to it. 

• Eat slowly.  Don't inhale your food.  It takes about 15 minutes for our stomachs to tell our brain we are full.  The faster you eat the more food you can shovel in before the message gets to your brain.  

• Never go to the grocery store when your hungry.

• Make sure you are getting enough vitamins and minerals.  Take a supplement if you have to.  Sometimes when people diet they don't get enough of the vitamins they should.  

• Eat every meal with chopsticks even if you aren't eating chinese food.  This suggestion came from a reader and I have to admit it sounded a bit kooky when I first heard it, but actually it is a great idea.  The reasoning is that you won't eat as fast with chopsticks.  If you're really good with chopsticks switch them to your opposite hand.

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