Nutritionist Nicolette Pace states babies have a natural rhythm when it comes to eating that adults lose at some point.
When babies are hungry, they make sure to let you know. They do not wait until they are empty, weak and lightheaded. The same is true with when babies feel full. They don’t eat past the point where they feel comfortable. She suggests that if we tap into our natural rhythm of eating, we could better manage our weight. If we eat when we are not hungry, we can’t recognize when we are full.
When you are in touch with body cues, you start eating at fairly or slightly hungry. In other words, you feel slightly uncomfortable and your stomach is rumbling. A good question to determine true hunger is, am I hungry enough to eat a carrot? If you would like to lose weight, stop eating when you are stomach feels neutral or comfortable. You could eat more at this point, but choose not to. In order to maintain your weight, stop eating when you are pleasantly satisfied. If you were actually a toddler, you would be pushing your plate away from you, or even throwing the food on the floor at this point.
Weight gain occurs when we establish a pattern of eating until we are full, uncomfortably full and beyond.
There are some other tips we can learn from how we feed babies:
- They always eat breakfast.
- They are given food low in fat and sugar.
- Their meals are provided in small portion sizes.
Challenge yourself this week to only eat until your stomach feels neutral, not full. But remember, if you only eat half of your peanut butter sandwich, you will have to clean it up yourself.
This is Sheila Harrell with the Church Health Center.
If you have a question for Health Matters, send it to health@wkno.org.