Meal Routine-How I Ate my Meals

Happy New Year! I hope this first week is full of hope and motivation. We had a tough start as our whole family is recovering from all sorts of sickness. But things are looking up and now we are all back on track.  Here is a quick post about how I ate my meals. Am I really going to tell you how to eat, absolutely not but take into consideration the bad habits that you've formed and maybe you'll realize that what I'm suggesting makes sense. Having kids usually means rushed meals and almost always means feeding yourself last. So even if you don't get a chance to enjoy your meal in peace and quiet, at least be aware on the other things that you may be able to change.

How I Ate my Meals

1) Use smaller plates. The bigger the plate the more tempted you are to fill it with food. It's kind of like an illusion. Your brain thinks, this big plate needs to be filled up. Well, if you have a smaller plate and it fills up, there was less space on the plate to begin with.

2) Measure your food. When my nutritionist insisted that I measure how much rice I ate, I kinda rolled my eyes. I know how much a cup of rice looks like. Well apparently my gestational diabetes thought my measuring skills sucks. So, take your measuring cups and have them accessible as you measure the right amount of food unto your plate. Nowadays, half my plate is vegetables, about 1/4 is carbohydrates and protein is 1/3- 1/2 cup. I always tell myself, if I'm still hungry I can come back for more.

3) Cut off is 2 hours before bed time. I don't eat anything 2 hours before I sleep. Your food needs to digest and you must give yourself ample amounts of time before bedtime and that is the 2hr mark. On a really good day, we are all done eating by 7pm and before I even have the cravings for a midnight snack, I brush my teeth. It really does work, cause who wants to brush their teeth again just for a snack.

4) Pay attention. When you eat, you must try and focus on the eating. No watching television, no phone and no reading. It should be a simple task but a lot of people get distracted and are not paying attention to the food they are shoveling into their mouths. So look at your food and enjoy it.

5) Eat slowly. This goes with the pay attention rule. You have to give your mind time to catch up on your stomach's hunger cue or in this case the "I'm full" cue. Chew your food and savor it.

6) Don't forget your tea. My meals come with tea and/or water. I always get mad at my kids who drink all their milk or juice before eating, "Don't fill your tummy with that, you have to eat your food". In my case, I did the opposite and filled up with the tea.

So I hope my suggestions can help you. Next post, grocery shopping for weight loss.