A woman I went to school with rides bicycles for miles and miles and miles to burn calories, and only eats one meal a day. I’ve known daily joggers, too, but I don’t have the time or desire for hours and hours and hours of exercise. Walking 20 blocks or riding a stationary bike for 30 minutes is what I can sustain.
I’ll accept the inevitability of a few extra pounds, and yet I won’t let myself go completely; therefore, I must eat less food. Moreover, I also don’t wish to rely on drugs to suppress my hunger. So how do I control my appetite?
Here’s what I do to maintain a healthy body weight by curbing hunger:
2) Drink a cup of skim milk with dinner. It keeps me full longer.
3) Mostly eat 3 meals a day. If not hungry for breakfast or lunch, I may skip one of them, but usually I do eat a modest breakfast and lunch, and a dinner containing a protein, a starch, and vegetables. Another friend of mine only eats 2 meals a day, but usually I need 3 meals, and a small snack at night.
4) When hunger strikes in between meals, I see if drinking hot coffee or tea with skim milk quells my hunger pangs. Lately, I’m also trying Haymaker's Punch in between meals.
5) If all else fails, I’ll eat 1 or 2 pieces of fruit -- an apple, orange, pear, or banana, which I consider free food on days I’m hungrier. A carrot, celery stalks, bites of leftover cooked butternut squash or green beans, 5 - 10 almonds or walnuts, or a few Saltine crackers sometimes work as after-dinner snacks.
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| I cut up fruit and top it with nuts. |
7) I limit how often I eat carbs per day and usually save them for dinner. Eating lots of carbs a day only whets my appetite, yet doesn’t stifle my hunger.
8) I never eat sweets mindlessly anymore. Sweets are always a planned treat, like birthday cake, Christmas cookies, or Halloween candy. Sugar isn’t healthy for anyone. Especially as we age, we must limit our intake of sugar for health and weight reasons. As it turns out, the less sugar we eat, the less we crave. Outside of planned treats, I’ll only take 2 bites of a sweet.
I wish it weren’t so, but our metabolism changes, and so must what, how much, and when we eat. It’s a shame we have to put so much thought into eating, isn’t it? Unfortunately, we do!😣
Great tips - thanks for the advice. I like the fruit idea-much better than grabbing some crackers or chips!
ReplyDeleteI, too, like fruit, but oh, salty, spicy chips are my weakness. Usually, I won’t bring a bag home from the supermarket because once it’s in my cupboard, I will crave them until the bag is empty. As much as possible, I try to satisfy that craving with noodles or potato sides and other real-food spicy dishes.
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