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Friday, December 18, 2009

Mindless Eating

I have always had to work at staying thin and there was a time when I was a size 16. I stay thin, and feel best, when I eat modest quantities of whatever I want. I get into trouble when I deny myself my favorite foods and when I do not pay attention when I am eating. That happens when I eat while I am doing something else.

Has this ever happened to you? You want some chips so you go to the cupboard and get a bag; then you eat them while you are working or watching TV. All of a sudden, you look into the bag and notice that it is three quarters empty. That is mindless eating. Wanting the chips is not bad and neither is eating and enjoying them. What gets you into trouble is eating too many. The saddest part is the realization that you have ingested all of those calories and you did not enjoy them because you ate them without paying attention.

Think how many less chips you would have eaten if you had taken a handful or two, put them on a plate, sat down and did nothing but eat and enjoy the chips. Your craving would have been satisfied and you would have zero guilt when you were done. Do not try to convince yourself that you cannot take the time away from your work. You are eating chips, not a 5-course meal; even if you eat them very slowly, it will only take 2-3 minutes. You are worth stopping and taking a 3-minute chip break if that is a fun desire. As for TV, either push the pause button or take your 3-minute chip break during a commercial.

Let’s Cook Tonight® teaches a common sense approach to eating. It is perfectly fine to eat the foods you enjoy, snacks included, and it makes sense to pay attention when you eat so you can enjoy the food completely and so you will not eat more than you need. The next time you reach for the bag of chips, get a plate and sit at the table. You are worth a 3-minute chip break.

Cooking is easier than you think and you are worth the time and effort it takes.

Simple cooking idea: Do not let cooked pasta remain in its cooking water. It will continue to cook and turn to mush. Drain it, put it back in the hot pot, and cover it. It will all stick together, but the sauce will loosen the pieces.

Copyright ©2009 by Gigi Centaro. All Rights Reserved.

1 comment:

Brenda Davis said...

That is so true, I find myself doing that all the time. I will walk through the kitchen and grab a handful of whatever and eat and go, the walk through a while later and grab "just a handful" and go. Before you know it I have eaten a whole bag of whatever "just a handful" at a time.