Listen to Your Mother – Mom’s eating tips

 

Remember when we were younger and our moms would preach to eat your vegetables and take a small portion before getting seconds.

Many years later, this sage advice still hold true.

But…

Today, we are bombarded with commercials that present foods high in processed sugars, high in carbohydrates, high in fat, and high in salt and as healthy food choices. Many of us get caught in their tangled web of lies and wonder why managing a healthy weight is so difficult.

More and more people these days are looking back to the way our parents and grandparents ate to find the correct way to eat for health and wellness.

So let’s break down the sage like advice…

1. Cut your plate into 1/3’s – Our parents set up a meals with three district components ~ meat/ protein, starch/ carbohydrate, and veggies. Now, imagine your plate divided into thirds. Each third of the plate should consist one of the three basic components.

2. Adjust the plan to your goals - You can make slight adjustments to this plan according to what your goals are for example if you’re going for weight loss, and reduce the size of carbohydrate or starch third in your meal and add more vegetables. If you’re looking for muscle tone or even building muscle, add more protein and subtract some of the carbohydrates.

3. Take a Small Portion – Instead of piling your plate full of food, start with a small portion of each component. Only go for seconds after everything is eaten from the first portion.

4. Slow down – I remember as a kid eating like a pack of wolves and my mom constantly telling me to slow down. Slowing down is great advice because keeps us from overeating. Our stomach is slow in communication to our brain that we are full. Slowing down allows this communication to happen.

5. Talk about the day – Instead of shoveling food into your mouth like your eating at a trough, starting a friendly conversation with friends and family during dinner are will slow down your eating. Also, research shows that people who share meals are much happier in life than people who eat alone.

6. Don’t confuse starch and vegetables - Note that certain vegetables are considered a carbohydrate or starch such as potatoes, corn, sweet potatoes, rice, whole wheat etc. Make sure you put them in the starch portion. Sorry, those french fries aren't considered a veggie for our purposes.

If you want to eat right, take it from your mother and eat your vegetables.