Jan
25
Stopping When You’re Full: A Guide to Eating Out
Filed Under Mindful Food, Mindful Living | 3 Comments
When you are watching you’re weight, or trying to be healthy, or just trying to not turn into one of the millions of Americans suffering from obesity then taking the cues from your body that are telling you that you are full is important. Often times we don’t listen, or we do, but a myriad of excuses keep sending fork-to-mouth signals to our brains which counter-attack stomach-to-brain anti-signals. Or something like that.
Eating out is the hardest place to control eating by far. Portions are way too big and often made with more fat, sugar and salt than necessary. And we’ve all heard that excess quantities of these substances are part of the problem. So what do you do?
Be a Pain in the…
If you are dining out with a willing partner, then split an entrée and get a side salad or a cup of soup. Most restaurants charge a split plate fee for the extra work, but it’s worth paying the two dollars each time you split a plate if it means your health and well being into a ripe old age—need I mention looking good in the meantime.
If you are with someone who’s being difficult and you can’t agree to split a plate (or, if you are in a business meeting or some other occasion where that would be inappropriate, then split the meal with yourself). Ask the server to put half of it in a to go container before the meal comes out.
If you’re not comfortable with that, then you could just ask him or her to bring you a to go container when your meal comes out and you can do it yourself.
Last and definitely riskiest, you can cut your food in half and leave half of it alone. Either get the other half to go, or put your napkin over it when you’re done. It’s the universal signal for, “I’m full and if you don’t take this plate away from me now then I will eat until I hate living.”
Order an Iced Tea
Soda is loaded with empty calories, so you shouldn’t drink it. Diet soda isn’t any better, it’s calorie-free, but the fake sugar makes your body think it’s getting something that it actually isn’t which just leads to the overeating of sweets later. Diet soda prolongs the inevitable. Occasionally it’s fine, but make your default iced tea.
Get the Soup and Salad
To be honest, this one thrilled me the least when I started implementing it. But you know what, I kind of like it now. They usually bring it out one at a time, which helps you eat more slowly and helps those cues get through to your thick skull. And, these days soups and salads are as full of exciting flavor and fun as anything else on the menu. Believe me, you’ll be surprised but it’s plenty of food.
Jan
21
There are more skin care products on the market these days than there are cows in the Midwest it seems like. How many of you have convinced yourself you need this or that, use it for two weeks and then it sits on your shelf? Yeah, me too. Usually later I have the audacity to wonder why I spent so much money on something that doesn’t work.
Here’s the deal. Getting results form your skin care system takes a routine. Developing a routine takes effort, but having a routine does not. If you stick with it long enough to create a habit, then you will have made your skin care routine effortless.
You need two cleansers: one for the shower and one for the sink. I recommend St. Ives Apricot Scrub for the shower and any cream cleanser for the sink. I have long since reconciled with myself that I am so lazy I cannot bring myself to take the cleanser out of the shower to wash my face at night, so if I really want to do this, I just need two face washes. Besides, it’s hard to take off eye make-up with a scrub.
Eye Makeup Remover: Try Avon’s Moisture Effective Eye Makeup Remover Lotion and take off your eye makeup after you wash your face at night. It’s easier to do it after some of it has washed off. Easier, of course, is more sustainable.
Now it’s Lotion Time! Use a night crème and an eye serum. I like Avon’s Retroactive Youth Extending Crème. And, it got an award in the Allure Magazine Best of Beauty issue, October 07.
The next morning in the shower, use the scrub. After the shower, apply the daytime moisturizer (make sure it has an SPF) and more eye serum. Wait a few minutes before applying makeup. I just do my hair first.
Get your vitamins A and E. They’re great for the skin. Or take a multivitamin.
Drink Water. Got to stay hydrated.
Basically, whatever you do has to work for you and your schedule. Ask yourself what your excuses are and find a solution. I need two cleansers. Maybe you need to wash your face after dinner because you are too tired to do it right before bed. Maybe you need an astringent for times when you are just feeling too lazy. Maybe you need to put a towel on the edge of the bathroom counter because you hate all the water that splashes. Finding solutions for those excuses means healthier and better looking skin.