COMPINGCAVEMUM : NEED TO FEEL FULL

Question: My problem is not just what I'm eating, but also the fact that I overeat. I seem to need to feel stuffed in order to be satisfied. I'd appreciate any suggestions on how to cut back on portion sizes or suggestions on what I could eat that would give me that full feeling.

Answer: This is a common problem. We want, like and need the full feeling, yet we have to stop eating before we get this feeling. This is tough. Here are some of the rules I follow to keep me in shape and I recommend to my audiences:

1. Keep boring foods at home. Be sure to stock up on fruits, vegetables and whole grain foods that are not quick and easy to swallow. A muffin slides down the gullet, without chewing, much quicker than a whole-wheat peanut butter sandwich. Then again, if you love peanut butter and feel good spreading it lightly on your bread, that is fine. If you scoop it out of the container in spoonfuls, you’re in trouble.

2. Know your food weaknesses and keep these foods out of sight. If someone leaves chips at my home, they would stay there until they go stale. If someone gives me a box of chocolates, I can inhale the entire contents in 20 minutes. Sweet foods go home with the guests.

3. Avoid trigger foods. Sometimes, having a small taste of a dessert or a few fries is easy, at other times impossible. They just make you want to finish and have more. Then you’ll continue to eat more and more of these trigger foods until you feel stuffed. Judge for yourself, it may be easier to avoid a taste altogether than try a small mouthful and lose control. Try fooling yourself with a skim milk cappuccino as a replacement for a dessert.

4. Enjoy a vegetable soup before the main course. This will start you feeling full and limit the amount of food on your plate.

5. When preparing meals, keep clean and cut carrots or celery sticks nearby to chew on. If you’re ravenous, you’ll start eating while you cook, and then eat without an appetite.

6. Be sure that vegetables take up half your plate. Make that an important rule. Vegetables are filling because of the fibre content. You won’t feel the need to overindulge on the higher calorie protein and starch dishes.

7. End the meal with a hot beverage. If you have a cup of tea or coffee, you will feel that the meal is finished.

8. If you’re an evening snacker, floss your teeth after dinner; you won't want to do that twice.

9. Go for a walk after your meal. Sitting around picking at leftovers will make you feel too stuffed to walk. You will feel much better about yourself and have plenty of energy.

Print these suggestions out, highlight the ones relating to you and try for three weeks. Soon your stomach will get used to smaller portions and you will feel stuffed sooner. Overindulging will lead to a stomachache, which will remind you to cut back.

Let me know if you have “feeling full” rules to share with readers.

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