Balanced Meals

Every meal should have a reasonable combination of protein, carbohydrate, and vegetable or fruit. Lettuce is not really a vegetable, but should be eaten because it is filling and has some roughage.

The best tactic for this is to arrange one of each on your plate, but don't arrange them in layers; rather, divide the plate into sections. If you use layers, you'll end up with too much food.

Balanced meals help satiate your hunger, provide interesting variety, and will slow down your eating to give your body a chance to react to the food before you pile on more.

Try to minimize condiments like sour cream, mayonnaise, and ketchup. They add calories, and ketchup, especially, is loaded with high fructose corn syrup. It doesn't sound evil, but it's not something our bodies can really handle well.

Portion Sizes

For meats and carbohydrates, keep the portions to be about the size of your palm. This takes a great deal of getting used to, because it's probably a lot less than you are accustomed to eating.

Steak houses are notorious for offering ever larger cuts of meat, with potatoes and deep fried onions to go with them, plus plenty of condiments. I feel silly sometimes, but I order the smallest cuts available.

Another great technique when dining out is to immediately bury half of the delivered food in the doggy-bag so that you aren't tempted to keep eating.

Eat Consciously

Consider the food as you eat it. Look at it and smell it before shoving it down your throat. Chew it thoroughly. Our saliva needs to be triggered in order to feel sated later on.

All too often, we eat from a bag of chips, mechanically reaching and shoveling, unaware of the number of chips eaten. Your unconscious mind has taken over, and is adding fuel in case there is a drought or lack of food in the future. Except this is America, and the chances of your needing a layer of fat around the middle in order to survive are slim, so it is best to not let that part of your brain take over.

Try to be honest with yourself. Eating a broken cookie actually has calories. Finishing someone else's bagel is not an act of kindness, but is, instead, adding real fuel to your body; make sure you need that fuel before eating it.

Eat Early, But Not So Often

Have a hearty breakfast and lunch, but let dinner be on the slight side. This is contrary to how most of our culture is arranged. Dinner is seen as a celebration, and tends to be the heaviest meal. Reverse this, and give your body a chance to use the fuel offered during the day. Load it up late, and you are asking your body to save that fuel for later.

Snack Wisely

Many diets suggest having six smaller meals instead of three meals. This does not work for me, but if you must snack, snack wisely. A small amount of carbohydrate and some protein is all that is needed. Having both will help maintain your blood sugar levels so that you aren't stricken with cravings for more.

Snacking has been a huge problem for me forever. I was always too quick to respond to hunger, and aggravated the problem by reaching for cookies or chocolate. Cottage cheese certainly doesn't sound good compared to those, but it's better in terms of fueling your body.

Just Because There is Food, You Don't Have to Eat

In the land of plenty, there are far too many opportunities to eat to maintain a healthy weight. A gazillion years ago, it was an advantage to eat whatever you found, and our bodies evolved with that desire and ability as a feature. However, the desire to keep eating is now a disadvantage, and can make us sick with obesity.

There are times when we feel obligated to eat so as not to be impolite, such as when visiting a friend or relative. There are also unplanned opportunities at work or at parties. The holidays in particular seem to be marked by a feeding frenzy.

It's truly a challenge to think of our needs for fuel when we are surrounded by friends and family indulging in yummy things. Often, people talk openly of how they know they don't need to eat but can't help themselves. It seems right if we are grazing with the herd.

Keep the Food Lean

There are choices even during feeding frenzies, and it seems obvious and straight forward to choose vegetables over chips, lean cuts of meat instead of oversized, fat-laden ones. Yet it is as if we are compelled by forces of nature to eat the more calorific foods.

• A salad with a light dressing should be the start.
• A clear soup rather than cream of whatever
• A small portion of lean meat
• A vegetable not prepared in butter

When You're Done, Leave the Food Behind

After the meal, and before you are stuffed to the gills, get up and move away from the food. Let the rest of the herd lick up the crumbs. Remove thyself from temptation lest we end up choking on a chicken bone.

Remaining near food is only asking the primal portion of your brain to command your arm to lift more food to your mouth.

Hydrate All Day Long

Water fills us up and helps convince the brain that we are not in a stressful situation that requires storing fat in case of an emergency. It can be help you eat less at every meal, whether you're on a six or three-meal plan.

Take an Active Role in the Food Gathering and Preparing

Do not be passive about your food, expecting to eat whatever is offered. Actively selecting and preparing your food is your only chance to keep it lean and to ensure there is adequate fuel for your body. This means shopping for the food as well as cooking it.

The ultimate in passive eating is the drive through window at McDonalds. They offer value meals that suggest we are making a wise decision, but only in terms of money. Nearly all the so-called meals are burdened with excess calories that only professional athletes could burn.

Plan the Meal Strategy

Every morning, you need to give just a few moments of thought to the meals you'll have that day. You don't necessarily have to write out the menu, but you should have a vague idea of when and where you'll eat, and what sort of things you will have.

If you know there is a restaurant or party at some point, the other meals should be scaled back to compensate. At the same time, you should think of what you will eat at the event that is reasonably healthy so that you aren't overwhelmed by temptation once you arrive.

Conclusion

These principles are a lot to have to deal with for anyone. I have met a number of people that seemed to handle all of the above without much concern or fret. They were thin, and I envied them for their fast metabolism and ability to resist temptation.

Work on the principles one at a time, consciously striving to improve in each area. Add the skills to eat right the same way one develops any talent, one thing at a time.