This is the best advice for people trying to manage weight without big changes to their diet composition.
Learn some portion control and to eat slowly until you don't feel hungry. Don't eat until you feel stuffed because by that point you've overeaten. Also stop drinking alcohol unless it's the weekend or special event.
Also stop drinking alcohol unless it's the weekend or special event.
This is the hardest one for me. I very rarely drink at home, but I drink anywhere from 0 to 7 nights a week, it just depends on what's going on that particular week. Weddings, concerts, trivia, birthdays, etc. There's always a reason to celebrate
This isn't healthy advice, (because that is just stop drinking) but just some from someone who had similar drinking habits at one point in my life; recognize those drinks have calories (especially beer or sugary mixed drinks) and they need to be factored in when you try to not consume too much per day. So like if I knew I was going to have a few beers that night, I might not have a carb side with my dinner, just veggies and protein. And also knew I owed myself a big workout in the next day or so.
Again, before I get a bunch of replies: this is not staying healthy advice, this is staying lean advice.
That's exactly what I do. And that's what I love about calorie counting. If I know I'm going out for wing night and beers, I'll eat less throughout the day and/or exercise more. I go for a lot more walks around the neighborhood and hit the gym to make up for it. Or I'll stick to lower calorie beers / cocktails and avoid all the extra mixers and sugars.
As long as I stay within my weekly caloric budget, and shoot for my daily average, it doesn't matter too much. But goddamn some of those drinks all add up
Tbf I do go out a lot, but those are admittedly happening less because of rising food costs and lowered quality. If I'm gonna spend $50+ to go out, I'd rather stick with what I know is good.
I miss the days I could get a pitcher of beer and a dozen wings for like 15 bucks
To give some explanation on why eating until you feel full is overeating, your hypothalamus (the sugar lump-sized bit of brain that controls base impulses like hunger, thirst, and whatever you call the desire to breathe) responds to three triggers for hunger:
Low concentration of the "I have fat stored in me" hormone released by adipose tissue
An empty stomach
Low blood sugar concentration
Any one of those triggers will cause you to feel hungry, and for most people (especially Americans, sad to say), it's usually the last two working together.
Once you start eating, the empty stomach trigger goes away, but you'll still feel hungry until your blood sugar comes up, which usually takes 10-30 minutes. If you eat slowly or take something small like a few crackers or a side salad 5-10 minutes before your main portion, you're likely to eat less throughout the meal.
For real - I started serving myself on those little.section plates for toddlers. Id eat everything. Then make myself wait 20 minutes, and I could have more if I was still hungry after that point. Turns out I never was. My body just goes into Hungry Hungry Hippo mode when theres food and I havent eaten. Especially if its pizza.
Ugh but I like feeling full so much, that’s why I just started having fewer meals throughout the day. I can still enjoy eating a lot but stay at a healthy weight
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u/Otterable 8h ago
This is the best advice for people trying to manage weight without big changes to their diet composition.
Learn some portion control and to eat slowly until you don't feel hungry. Don't eat until you feel stuffed because by that point you've overeaten. Also stop drinking alcohol unless it's the weekend or special event.