Heed the signal that says you have had enough

We all like to indulge, especially on holiday. But then the weight goes on, we struggle to lose it, and then comes Christmas, and the whole cycle starts all over again. What to do? 

There is a signal that tells us we have had enough, and we can learn to heed it. When the sugar in our blood reaches a certain level, part of the brain called the hypothalamus senses this and switches off the feeling of hunger. If we stopped eating then, we would be a good way towards keeping our weight stable, and even, with some effort, losing some. 

This is why we tell children that if they eat too many sweets it will spoil their appetite. The sugar has gone in, hunger is switched off, and they won't eat the food that their bodies actually need. The excess sugar gets turned into fat. Children often burn it off, adults not so much.

Ultra-processed food is like eating too many sweets. Ultra-processed food is designed to make you want to eat more of it. It tends to be full of sugars and starches. These enter the bloodstream quickly and are converted into fat. The calories you don't need are in before the signal that you have had enough is triggered. 

So, avoid ultra-processed food. 

Acquire a cookbook that you like and use it. Cooking your own food from basic ingredients is always going to be better than reaching for something pre-packaged. Some healthy meals can be cooked in a short time, or cook double portions and freeze half if you are time-poor. 

Nobody likes waste, so we tend to finish what is on our plates, even if we're full. But think about it. Food that your body doesn't need is just as much wasted as if you threw it away. If this keeps happening, use smaller plates, or use leftovers for next day's lunch. 

Another problem is that we just like eating, and we like delicious food, so we ignore the signal to stop. My answer to this is, eat more slowly. Savour each mouthful. 

This leads to one more excellent tip. Consider stopping eating for three minutes part-way through a meal. Sip some water, have a chat, pause. If after three minutes you are still hungry, eat. If not, stop. This gem is taken from an in-depth article by Dr Lutz E. Kraushaar on Medium. 

In a follow-up I shall talk about which foods to cut down on and which foods are less likely to make you put on weight, so that you can adapt your recipes and make intelligent substitutions. Did you know that full-fat yogurt is less likely to make you put on weight than reduced fat yogurt? Or that you can use celeriac instead of potatoes if you like mash? More later. For more on safe weight loss and what we can do for you, please go to my weight loss page.

Dr Martin Dace