Next Post: Wednesday, December 2, 2015: Powerful Tip #29 – Don’t Skip Meals
Turns out that feeling full is more than our bellies getting a certain quantity of food. It is also about our brains recognizing we have gotten enough food. When we eat in a frenzy we don't allow our brains to catch up with our bellies. This may cause us to continue eating because our brains are not satisfied. Eat slowly and enjoy your meals. It takes about ten minutes following a meal to recognize fullness.
Next Post: Wednesday, December 2, 2015: Powerful Tip #29 – Don’t Skip Meals
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Whatever good intentions were associated with this rule, they have outlived their usefulness. As a society, we demonstrate little ability to self-regulate our eating by recognizing our satiety. We grossly overeat, have a distorted perception of normal portions and emotionally value food in a destructive manner. Teaching children to clean their plate, as opposed to learning to appreciate feeling satisfied, is a major contributor to the development of obesity. Children should be encouraged to eat what feels comfortable and then happily stop eating.
Next Post: Monday November 30, 2015: Powerful Tip #28 – Don’t Eat Meals in a Frenzied Rush
Restaurant portions are often enormous! Meals served in restaurants, especially fast food places, can be more than three times the recommended serving size. Try eating half and bringing the rest home, or consider splitting the meal among the kids. Sometimes choosing an appetizer as a main meal will work. Even if you need to pay to split the plate, the benefit to your health is worth it. Most importantly, avoid supersizing at all costs. It’s not a bargain when you consider the damage to your health from massive overeating.
Next Post: Wednesday, November 25, 2015: Powerful Tip #27 – Never Ask Kids to Clean Their Plates
So much of our eating behavior is influenced mentally. We often fail to take cues from our body that we have eaten enough. Rather, we allow the visual cues from the appearance of food on our plate to be the dominant factor for fullness. This is such a long-standing habit that one way to transition to smaller portions with comparable satisfaction is to put food on smaller plates, making more appropriate portions look larger and literally trick our brains into feeling satisfied.
Next Post: Monday, November 23, 2015: Powerful Tip #26 – Beware of Restaurant Portions Powerful Tip #24 - Don't Give up on Healthy Foods if Your Child Doesn't Seem to Like Them11/16/2015
You've tried broccoli 4 times and your youngster can't stand it. So you give up, right? WRONG! Studies demonstrate that children may require exposure to a particular food 10 - 12 times before giving that food a try in earnest. Be sure to consistently show them you eat the food that you want them to try. Eventually, with patience, the likelihood is they will eat it too.
Next Post: Wednesday, November 18, 2015: Powerful Tip #25 - Serve Food on Smaller Plates and it Will Feel Like More
In my previous post, I discussed the benefits of berries, one of which is they are rich in phytochemicals. The name comes from the Greek word phyto meaning plant. Phytochemicals are naturally occurring plant chemicals with powerful properties and health benefits such as:
Next Post: Monday, November 16, 2015: Powerful Tip #24 - Don't Give up on Healthy Foods if Your Child Doesn't Seem to Like Them
Berries are a fantastic superfood for children. With their beautiful colors, appealing shapes and natural bite size they have wonderful natural appeal. The nutritional value of these little food gems can't be understated. They contain special nutrients called phytochemicals that possess immune boosting antioxidants and cancer fighting properties. Berries are also loaded with vitamins. For instance, blueberries and strawberries are filled with vitamin C and there's lots of fiber in berries as well. Learning to appreciate and enjoy berries can be an amazing substitute for highly processed unhealthy sweets.
Next Post: Wednesday, November 11,2015: Powerful Tip #23 – Learn More About Phytochemicals
Aim for 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. To achieve this goal and to help manage your food intake, try having a serving of fruit before the main meal. Or, maybe a salad. Or perhaps a salad with vegetables and some fruit. Kids may actually get excited about a salad if they see beautiful berries in there! In my next post, I’ll talk about why you should feed your kids more berries.
Next Post: November 9, 2015: Powerful Tip #22 - Why you should feed your kids more berries
You know the saying, "Do as I say, not as I do". Well in case you haven't figured this out yet, that saying is nonsense. If you want your child to do anything consistently, and not just when you are looking, you had better think about modeling that behavior yourself. Even if children listen in the short term, they are internalizing the behavior that they see you doing and when it becomes feasible they will do what you did and not what you said!
When you feel like you need to eat more food, try more vegetables. If you consistently take another serving of pasta, mashed potatoes or rice, your child will want do the same. Next Post: Wednesday, November 4, 2015: Powerful Tip #21 – Control Your Intake at Mealtime with More Fruits and Salad |
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