Eating all the ‘right’ foods and still not seeing the scale budge? Food is a really big part of our weight, but how and when we eat play a big role too.
Plus, breaking weight loss down into small, manageable bites is easier than putting pressure on yourself to see large numbers move. Incorporating small, eating hygiene changes can actually help how your body processes the food you do eat.
Here are my top 5 favorite tips for helping to nudge the needle (especially on those last few pounds):
- Stop eating after 7pm at night: This is my #1 tip. Eating late at night forces the body to work on digesting when it should be resting and repairing. All this food ends up getting stored in places you don’t want it too.
- Fill up on veggies FIRST: Instead of feeling like you have to skip food, just reverse the order of items you eat first. Finish all the vegetables first, then if you are still hungry have a few bites of the rest (the bread, the meat, the starch.) You might find that the bread in that basket actually is too hard to even enjoy by that time and not worth it.
- Drink water away from meals: I’ll bet you’ve heard just the opposite, right? So many people say to fill up on water before eating so you feel less full. But, when you load up on water and pile a bunch of food on top, it’s only going to make you more bloated. And it dilutes your much needed stomach acid which is going to complicate the entire digestive process. Drinking plenty of water is key (half your body weight in ounces), but do it away from meals for the best benefit.
- Enforce the Table Rule: Eat every meal at a table, not at your desk or on the couch in front of the TV. Conscious eating (focusing on the food, slowing down, chewing) will help you eat less and slower, so your body will be focused on digestion so you’ll experience less gas and bloating too.
- Brush your teeth..often!: nothing tastes good, or is even appealing, after brushing your teeth. Feel a craving coming on? Stop and brush it away.
- BONUS TIP: Reduce the amount of food you are eating. We’ve become desensitized to extremely large portion sizes, over-sized plates and jumbo drinks. Make a fist and hold that against your plate of food. Will it all fit in inside that fist, because that is roughly the size of your stomach. Saving just 20% of your food for a light snack later can help reduce the load on the entire digestive process.