‘I’m not really feeling it” I said, trying to convince myself <<< Call me, Pinocchio
“But we haven’t been out for a meal in so long” – The ‘boss’ (my wife) replied
And with me preaching:
‘everything in moderation”
“life is for living and spending time with friends and family”
“You don’t have to give up your wine, chocolate or favourite foods” <<< Unless of course there is a deeper issue (more on that another day)
How could I say no?
So off we went out for a Chinese at the weekend.
One of those all-you-can-eat buffets.
Which doesn’t just serve sweet pork ribs, crispy duck, and ‘dodgy’ prawns (ever used that one to cover up the 2 bottles of wine you had with it?)…
But also steaks, scallops, and even Indian food…
I’ll be honest, I enjoyed it.
Mussels, steak, ribs, King prawns..
And
After seeing this stir fry dish on another guys plate…
I fancied a bit of that as well (oh, and olives. Yes. Olives. At a Chinese. World. Has. Gone. Mad.)
And it reminds of me what a recent study look at:
What do ‘overweight’ and ‘normal’ weight (based on BMI) do differently?
How do they act…in an all-you-can eat buffet style restaurant?
Well, they watched and got back to us.
Here’s what they found:
* Overweight people tended to pick up a plate BEFORE looking at what was available (meaning their plate was full before they saw the Stir Fry they really wanted << ooopss...)
* Overweight people tended to sit closer to the buffet and also FACING the buffet (our sight plays a key role in our hunger levels or – rather – how hungry we ‘think’ we are)
* Overweight people were less likely to use chopsticks (I tried…and quite enjoyed it. It always means I eat slower!!)
Now, here’s a few strategies that both myself – and members on my Fit For Life Body Transformation Programme – utilise at such events so we can enjoy ourselves, eat what we want and STILL lose weight (and keep it off):
1) We compensate throughout the day (choose more nutrient dense options that keep us full but give us plenty to eat at the end of the day)
^^^ Yep, eating late in the day will NOT make you fat
2) We load up on protein (it keeps you full)
3) We get our veggies in (fibre fills you up…just go easy on it if you’re looking to get lucky…and – in my case – avoid onions…)
^^^ And these 3 strategies can help put you BACK in control of what COULD be disastrous for your waistline…
I mean, we make – on average – about 300 decisions about food every single day.
How much to eat?
What to eat with?
How much should I eat?
Should I eat with a fork? Spoon? On my own?
Should I wait for the other half?
Should grab some biscuits whilst waiting for dinner?
Should I go for the £1 chocolate at the petrol station?
You get the point,…
And it’s easy to see that when you throw the stress of life on top of this…
Our willpower is on empty and we turn to food to provide us with a bit of comfort (often leaving us feeling guilty and like we failed…again)
And it’s exactly why knowing how different types and amounts of foods impact YOU, your energy, mood, hunger, waistline (and breath, in the case of me and onions…) allows you to enjoy yourself, eat your Chinese, and STILL shrink the waistline (and not make your pregnant wife have to sit 6 feet away from you because of your smelly onion breath)
Speak soon,
Matt ‘in the doghouse’ Fruci
PS. You know what they say you need an hour after eating Chinese food?
More Chinese food…
It was my first Chinese I had for some time. I was stuffed…but yet starving a few hours later.
And at 5am, my hunger actually woke me up..
PPS. Tomorrow, I’ll be talking about something that makes you put on weight but MAY have nothing to do with what you eat…
