Dr. Susan Albers recommends starting your meal with vegetables, bringing a 'rescue kit' when going to a party to avoid overeating and gaining weight.
Entering the long holiday season, you may receive countless invitations to eat and party. To avoid gaining weight due to overeating, psychologist Dr. Susan Albers recommends you apply the following tips.
1. Start your meal with vegetables
Psychologist Dr. Susan Albers recommends you eat a large plate of vegetables to fill your stomach first, reduce the feeling of fullness, and help limit overeating other dishes.
2. The plate rule
The plate rule helps you control calories more easily when you cannot calculate the detailed amount of calories in each dish.
The plate rule helps you control calories more easily.
Apply the plate rule to easily control the amount of calories you take in during your meal. The rule is: 1/2 of the plate is vegetables, 1/4 of the plate is protein (meat, fish, beans), 1/4 of the plate is starch (rice, bread, potatoes).
3. Eat your favorite dishes selectively
At a large banquet, choose the dishes you really like to eat, avoid eating all the dishes. Prioritize choosing dishes with lots of protein and little fat, avoid dishes containing lots of sugar, fried foods with lots of fat.
4. Apply the 5-minute wait button
When you feel like eating more, wait 5 minutes. After 5 minutes if you still feel hungry, eat a little more vegetables or fish, lean meat. If after 5 minutes you don't feel hungry anymore, you don't need to eat more.
5. Carry a 'rescue kit'
Carrying a protein bar in your bag helps you fight hunger, limit overeating.
For parties, meals that are expected to last several hours, you should bring a "rescue kit" including a low-sugar protein bar, nuts such as almonds, walnuts, etc. Refueling with protein-rich foods helps increase the feeling of fullness and you do not eat too much when you enter the party.
6. Choose a reasonable seating position
If possible, sit far away from the food area to avoid being constantly tempted by delicious dishes.
7. Talk instead of eating continuously
Take time to chat with friends and relatives during meals, avoid eating continuously. Eating and chatting at the same time helps slow down the eating speed, thereby controlling the amount of food better.
8. Drink water before and during meals
Drinking a large glass of water before meals helps fill the stomach, limiting overeating.
Drinking a glass of water before meals helps fill the stomach, increasing the feeling of fullness. During meals, drink small sips to avoid eating too quickly or too much.
Dr. Susan Albers is a clinical psychologist at the Cleveland Clinic, USA, which provides individual counseling for women on issues such as depression, eating disorders, relationships, and weight loss. She graduated from the College of Wooster, Ohio, and received her master's and doctorate in psychology from the University of Denver. She is also the author of many best-selling books, including Eating Mindfully and EatQ.
(According to Healthline)