Reduce Exposure to Food

Reduce Exposure to Food

I was reviewing a chapter in a book written by Dr. Tom Wadden and Dr Kelly Brownell. (They are two of the top researchers and teachers in the areas of nutrition and fitness).

They were giving suggestions to people who are very sensitive to external cues or signals involving food. (Smells, sight or the suggestion of food). This would include people who feel like eating dessert when it looks appetizing even after eating a large meal. Or those people when they drive by a bakery or fast food place and smell the food, want to eat regardless of when they last ate. There are millions of people, both overweight and thin, who react this way.

Some of the things you can do to control eating when your exposure to food cues is at its peak are:

• Remove serving dishes from the table. After first servings have been made, remove the food dishes from the table. Having the food handy is asking for trouble. If the food dishes are in another room or on another table, you can think before taking more. This does not prohibit you from having seconds, but it does interrupt the automatic eating that occurs when your plate is a magnet for anything left on the serving dishes.

• Leave the table after eating. This may sound anti-social, but some people are helped by leaving the table after dinner. This reduces the time you are exposed to food and to the circumstances of eating. If you finish long before the others, you may be eating too fast, and slowing down would help. Alternatively, remove the serving dishes from the table and it will not be necessary to leave the table.

• Serve one portion at a time. Make and serve yourself only one portion of food. If you want two pieces of toast, make one and eat it before making another. If you want a container of yogurt, put half in a bowl and return for the second half if you still want it. You might find yourself passing up the second portion because you are no longer hungry. Here again is a chance to interrupt that automatic eating. This can also help you separate hunger from habit. Because you have eaten one container of yogurt every morning for 10 years does not mean your body is hungry for that amount every day.

• Follow the five-minute rule. Wait five minutes before going back for extra helpings this will help you slow the rate of eating and will give you time to decide how much food you really need.

• If you are the gatekeeper of food in the house, giving snacks to your kids, and preparing all the food- it's a disadvantage for you because your routine brings you in contact with food many times each day. So, drop the job and have the children pack their own snacks, or your spouse can do the job.

All of this is referred to as ‘stimulus control'. Get creative, and try to remove the visual stimulus of food. If it's there in front of us, we are more likely to eat it, even if we are not hungry.

Keep on trying. Do not get discouraged. Never give up, because you can and will do it.

Dr Doug

(Remember to join us at the arboretum this Saturday at 9 am to be with the walking group. The leaves should be bright and cheerful.)