My stomach and I aren’t talking
I was at least 10 pounds lighter when I lived in England, when I was a lithe 25 years old. Skinny even. Now I’m not saying that I’m a ‘deuce, deuce and a half’ but I’ve definitely gotten a tummy and it’s not going away any time soon. So with the memory of my sleek figure disappearing faster than a new promotion at Wendy’s, I have to question what’s going on quick:
Is my owning a car just taking away the bare minimum of exercise I did each day?
When did I start to lose touch with what is a realistic portion size?
Why is the deep seated desire to ‘clean my plate’ still driving my eating habits?
When did a kids’ meal become the actual volume of food a grown adult should eat?
Why do corn dogs taste so damn good?
These questions seem to fly through my mind recently when I started to notice that I was feeling sick after eating. Not just slightly full, but actually uncomfortable from having eaten too much. Jesus, when did I become such a greedy guts? I’m about six months away from that vicious cycle of feeling fat, and eating to make myself feel better. Then feeling depressed about eating too much. Then binging to feel better. Somewhere along the way, I think start purging. Before you know it, I’m on Oprah, and a crane is lifting me out of a Aeron chair, still clutching the Nintendo DS in my clammy, Cheeto-orange hands.
So the plan (suggested by my wise girlfriend) is this:
1. E-a-t s-l-o-w-l-y.
2. Take any meal that I’ve portioned for myself and especially by someone else, and halve it. Really.
3. Drink water during my meal.
4. Get myself a winter bike trainer thingy so I can remind my body of the good ol’ days when I used to bike everywhere.
I’d welcome any other tips!
I’m afraid there isn’t much you can do - Chicago simply has this affect on people. I think it’s something in the air. Have you ever caught a whiff of the Blommer chocolate factory on a good day? That’ll put half a pound on you right away.
In any case, I’m in the same boat. It’s not as though I’ve become obese, but there’s clearly cause for minor concern. There’s a gym across the street from my apartment and I’m hoping to take advantage of it soon.
Comment by DCE — December 26, 2005 @ 11:49 pm
I’m glad to hear you have decided to trim down for 2006. I miss the old you. Though I have to disagree with one of your tips. Drinking water during your meal (while a perfectly natural thing to do) is actually not a great idea. When you chew your food in your mouth, it’s the enzymes in your saliva that come with chewing that break down the food so that it travels through your intestines and out the other end in its smallest form possible. If you are drinking at the same time, the water (or, I assume, any liquid) is diluting these enzymes (even if you drink between swallows) and making them less effective at doing their job, therefore running the risk of those spicy chicken wings or circles of pepperoni passing through you whole, creating greater gut ache. Your mother may have told you drinking water with dinner makes it go down easier, but it only makes it easier to swallow food whole - which, of course, is not good.
So avoid drinking water during your meal and for about 20 minutes after, when the enzymes are still getting to work on your digested takeaway.
My tips (from a man who knows):
- Yes, eat smaller portions. It doesn’t take as much food as you think to fill you up.
- Sometimes hunger is thirst in disguise. Have a glass of water instead of a snack. If you want to snack, try a rosy red apple or some dried berries. Mmmm.
- Chew your food as much as possible before swallowing.
- Stop drinking fizzy drinks. One can contains about seven teaspoons of sugar. Instead, make sure you drink 1.5 litres of water each day. That’s water only. Tea/coffee doesn’t count!
- Fish and chips are the worst takeaway you can have. They soak up a ridiculous amount of oil.
Follow my five tips and then buy my new fitness video, Lose 16 Pounds In Just 2 Weeks With Dr Jones (available at all good video stockists for $26.99), and you should see the difference in, well, 2 weeks. Or your money back.
Dr Jones
Comment by Bobby J — January 4, 2006 @ 3:34 am