We’ve all heard the taunting advertising line, “You can’t eat just one.”
Of course, we also know how true this can be.
To prevent “hand to mouth” problems with snack foods, decide that you will postpone eating them. Tell yourself you can have some of the food, but that you’ll wait a while before taking the first taste.
Sometimes you’ll wait ten minutes; other times you might hold off for a couple of hours.
When you go to a card party, baby shower or other social gathering, postpone reaching for food, and don’t eat anything until the very end of the event.
When it’s almost time to go home, decide if you still want some of the snacks. If you do, go ahead and eat them. But by not eating until the last ten minutes of the gathering, you’ll do a lot less damage than if you nibbled all evening.
Today’s assignment (my answers are in blue)
1. Watch for places where you can postpone eating. Hold off as long as possible, especially with snack foods or sweets. Make a list of times or places where you can use this concept.
I’ve used this concept a lot, especially at my neighborhood Bunko party nights where there’s tons of snack foods on the card tables. Another place it helps me is at Mexican restaurants where they serve chips and salsa. I postpone touching the chips until my food arrives. By then, I don’t usually want them any more.
2. Record each of the foods you postponed, and then note how much you ate compared to your usual amount.
Snack foods at a recent Bunko evening. At the end of the party, I started visiting with my friends, and totally forgot to go back and get the snacks I’d planned to eat!
3. Notice whether by postponing eating, you’re able to skip some foods entirely. Write notes about how you’re planning to use this concept.
At Bunko and at Mexican restaurants, I can often skip the snacks entirely. I’ve also found that the longer I wait, the more the food loses its power and appeal.
Excerpted from Day 30 in the book, 100 Days of Weight Loss