Everyday Systems

One of my mates recently came up with a comment which I find helpful when trying to resist that second helping.

Eat your food. Taste your food. Think "mmm! Yummy nice food". Finish the food on your plate, enjoying every mouthful. Think "how full am I?" Think " I really don't need to eat any more right now". Remind yourself that it was really nice food and although you probably *could* squeeze some more in, why do you need to? It'll only make you feel overfull and bloated, and it's not like there's a famine going on here. Remember, there will be nice food again. If there are leftovers of the nice food, put them to one side, freeze them, fridge them etc. for another meal. That way there'll be nice food to eat again sometime really soon.

If someone else cooked the nice food for you, well, you'll be back to visit again somewhen and I'm sure they'll cook it for you again if you tell them how good it was and ask them to.

So far it's working. I'm already realising how much I *don't* need more than a plateful, although admittedly, my plateful is pretty large right now as I'm just starting out. Saying that though, for the first time today at lunchtime I didn't want to finish off all the rice I had, cos I felt full already.

I agree entirely with what you have posted here. I have lots of little containers in the freezer, with one-serving portions of leftover dinners. I never lack for something good to have for lunch.

When I am tempted for that second helping, I ask myself, "do I really need this?" and I try to remember that I am not a Thanksgiving turkey that needs to be stuffed.

My plates were pretty full at the beginning, but gradually, the plates themselves are getting smaller, so there is less food at each meal.