The next four habits of successful losers
The previous two articles on permanent weight loss discussed the first three habits of successful losers: conscious eating, eating at regular intervals, and not eating between meals. Today’s article is on the next four habits: variety in meals, eating meals that are delicious, eating slowly, and eating early in the day.
Variety in meals
The fourth habit of slim people is having variety in meals throughout the week and month. This weekly and monthly variety is important to prevent monotony and feelings of deprivation that can lead to bingeing.
But paradoxically, it is equally important not to have variety at any one meal. This leads to overeating at that meal. It’s called “The Buffet Table Syndrome.” Many studies have been done on the effect of variety on appetite, and all have come to the same conclusion: the more variety at a meal, the more food consumed at that meal. The October 2001 issue of Health magazine reported on a review of diet studies in Psychological Bulletin. This review concluded that a multi course meal keeps people from tiring of the taste of the food so that they tend to eat and weigh more. Studies with rats have shown the same effect. A study entitled “Variety in the Diet Enhances Intake in a Meal and contributes to the Development of Obesity in the Rat,” appeared in the journal Physiology and Behavior (July 1983). A single meal should be limited to two or three different foods. (Casseroles are exceptions since the ingredients are not eaten separately but as part of a single serving.)
Meal must be delicious
The fifth habit of successful losers is having meals that are delicious. If there is no pleasure in eating, you will continue eating, seeking that pleasure, and will overeat searching for what is missing. This does not mean that you eat everything that you find delicious, but it does mean that what you do eat your find delicious.
Eating slowly – why?
The sixth habit of successful losers is eating slowly, chewing each bite till all the flavor has been extracted and savored. This give the food time to be assimilated so that signals of satiation can be sensed before overeating occurs. (It takes the stomach 20 minutes to signal the brain that it is full.) Eating slowly also contributes to the enjoyment of eating.
Eating early in the day – my experience
The seventh habit is eating early in the day, finishing dinner no later than 7 p.m. Eating early in the day seems to prevent the cravings that come on many overeaters late in the day and continue till they go to bed at night. That had been my pattern when I was thirty pounds overweight. I would not get hungry until late in the afternoon, but then I couldn’t stop eating for the rest of the night. When I started eating early in the day, that night time craving went away.
An article in Health magazine of November 2001 referred to studies showing that what matters weight-wise is the total number of calories consumed, not when you eat them. But they also found that late night eating does indeed lead to weight gain. The problem, they found, was that people who eat late tend to consume more calories than those who don’t. Why? People who eat late find they are not hungry in the morning, making them skip breakfast. They are likely to skip lunch, too. This causes overeating at night.
According to C. Wayne Callaway, M.D., an endocrinologist and obesity specialist, “Your hunger pattern is determined by your eating pattern. People who skip a meal or undereat tend to be more hungry following the next meal. If you skip lunch, you’re setting yourself up to eat two desserts after dinner.”
Mary Lou Williams, M. Ed., is a lecturer and writer in the field of nutrition. She
welcomes inquiries. She can be reached at 267-6480.