A Fool Proof Starting Point For Weight Loss
It can be pretty simple…
How do you generally feel after finishing your meals? Satisfied? Full? Completely and overwhelmingly stuffed?
I bet you know what the latter 2 feel like but have you ever been able to find that sweet spot of satisfaction after your meals? If not, read on.
The key is to eat until you are roughly 80% full. Yes, 80% full but 100% satisfied.
In Japanese culture, Hara Hachi Bu is the approach to eating mindfully and roughly translates to “eat until you are eight (out of ten) parts full.
This concept may seem restrictive, silly and even scary for some — as if you would be deliberately “starving” yourself (just like most mainstream diets) — but that’s not the case.
What really happens is you feel more satisfied because you end up eating just “the right amount” of food.
Although more complicated, in simple terms when your stomach is full, it sends out signals to your brain telling you to stop eating. However, there is a delay in the signaling of up to 20 minutes, which is why we often end up feeling stuffed after we eat.
But if you stop eating when you are about 80% full, you give your brain the time it needs to catch up. After all, your system hasn’t yet taken into account the food that is still traveling through the tubes to your stomach. Not to mention the food you are probably still chewing.
This is where eating slowly can be incredibly helpful. In fact, these two eating practices combined can be extremely powerful for weight loss and mindful eating.
Pretty simple practices, yet if you are not used to eating that way — and most people aren’t — it may be a bit of a struggle. For starters, you may not even know what 80% feels like which is totally ok. Most people don’t.
That’s why it’s a practice.
I’m sure you know what stuffed feels like — call that 120%.
I’m sure you know what “extremely hungry” feels like. Call that 0%.
Somewhere in between is that sweet spot we’re looking for — where we feel just satisfied and no longer hungry. The key is to experiment until you find it. It may take some time but of course, the benefits are many including:
- Decreasing caloric intake
- Increasing appetite awareness
- Weight loss and maintenance
- Better digestion
- Avoiding acid reflux and gastrointestinal problems
- Helps to lower risk of metabolic disorders
- Feeling better
As simple as this is, most people in The West do not eat like this. In fact, quite the opposite. On average, in the US we eat up to 1,000 calories more per day than they do in Japan. No wonder there is an obesity epidemic in this country.
That does not mean it has to stay that way. We can all learn to eat slowly until we are “80% full”. Here are some ways to get started with the practice.
Change the language — Hunger
Many of us have adopted a rather extreme language when it comes to hunger. We tend to use words and phrases like “starving”, “ravenous”, “dying”, etc. These words may seem innocent, but you are really telling your subconscious that “you must hurry up and eat as much as possible before you collapse from starvation and die”. Very clearly the opposite of eating slowly till 80% full!
Instead, can you use more neutral words and terms like “I am hungry”, “my body is telling me it is time to eat”, “my body needs fuel”. All this does is recognise that you are hungry and it’s time to eat without the added drama.
Change then language — Fullness
Have you ever said the words “I am going to eat until I break”? I’ve heard this many times and witnessed friends and family members in pain because they didn’t stop eating in time — and yes, I’ve been there myself.
However, instead of eating until you “break” or until you are full — can you eat until you are no longer hungry? This little tweak in language can make a big difference to your approach to eating.
Eat slowly
Size matters
When it comes to the plates you’re eating from, size does matter. Using smaller plate sizes tricks your brain into feeling fuller with less overall food.
Play the waiting game
This is for those of you who normally have more than one portion. Once you finish your plate, can you wait 10–20 minutes before you have the next portion?
When the wait time is over, check in with yourself to see if you’re really still hungry? If you definitely are, have a little bit more — and don’t fill your plate. But if you’re not and you feel satisfied, skip the second portion.
Now of course, as the headline states, this is just a starting point. What you eat also matters. Especially if your diet consist of lots of processed food and drinks. Many food additives mess with the signaling in the body and can trick you into thinking you are still hungry, even when your stomach is fully loaded.
So as always, I strongly recommend also focusing on eating minimally processed whole foods, while eating slowly until you are 80% full is an excellent starting point if you are looking to lose weight.
