I've been on Weight Watchers since Jan. 2nd (this time anyway) and it is going great....

I have a big problem not being able to stop when I am full? I wasn't brought up with a "clean your plate!!!" mom, I just love food and still have that mentality that you need to finish everything....Can't seem to stop when I'm satisfied.

Any ideas?

Julie

I did come from a family where food = love, and we showed my parents (especially my dad) we loved them by eating the meals they took the time to make for us.

One thing that works for me is if you are making your own meals, make more than you could possibly eat. Get the serving of food you should have for dinner and put everything else away (in leftover containers, the dishwasher, a pan of soapy water, etc.) Once I have put things away, I'm just not willing to get new things dirty again to eat more.

I read a suggestion in a magazine article that says to douse one bite of food with salt and pepper...destroy it. That way you'll eat one less bite. After a bit of this, begin dousing two bites, and so on, until you reach a normal size portion. Eventually, your body adjusts to eating less and begins feeling fuller on less.

I agree with the serve yourself and clean up. Put away the food, have the food in the kitchen and eat at the dining room table (so you have to get up and leave the room to get a second helping). I have this same problem - I measure out cereal when I eat or I'd easily eat 2 cups or more.

First give yourself a full glass of cold water before you serve yourself. Leave the food in the kitchen and fill the plate with ONE serving or food. Get another glass of cold water to drink with the food. Sip water between bites & slow down eating. Take another glass of water while you clean up.
By this time you should have absolutely NO room to eat seconds even if you wanted to!

I've found that when I eat slowly (actually normally, but that is slow compared to the way I used to wolf down food) I can tell when I'm satisfied before I over do it. I eat with a salad fork so that I am forced to take smaller bites.

Also, when I'm about half way done I get up and refill my drink glass, even if I don't need it. Just the motion of getting away from the table for those few seconds helps me for some reason - maybe it is just good practice from walking away from a plate of food. I don't bring the food to the table anymore, otherwise I'll nibble after my plate is empty.

Finally, it took a lot of practice, but I've learned to only cook what we are going to eat at that meal - unless I'm purposely planning leftovers. The cleaning up idea is a good one but wouldn't work for me. I might not immediately want to mess up the kitchen but at some point I'd find myself back in there putting something in the microwave!

Wow, what great ideas, I usually have a glass of water after the meal which helps with that being "stuffed" feeling.

I do all the cooking myself and usually take just my portion, I am going to put everything else away before I eat. It's been hard not cooking leftovers but that is something I've been trying also..

Thanks for all the support and ideas!!

Julie

Heya Partschik!

Eating A LOT of food has always been a problem for me... maybe I'm psycho, maybe I'm a pig, maybe I have a disorder, I dunno, but I just like feeling stuffed once in awhile (or not-so-once in awhile when I was a lot heavier )

Anyway, what I do when I'm eating to "push away from the table" is when I'm about half way through a meal (or sooner if I reach a point where I'm not hungry anymore) I stop and ask myself if it wouldn't be nicer to save the rest of my meal for later: "I could easily eat the end of this, but if I put it in the fridge, I can eat it later and not feel guilty at all." Thinking like this often leads me to setting my plate away in the fridge, and when I go back for it later, it serves as another meal.

It's no different than any other type of portion control, but for some reason, for me, thinking about it differently helps immensely.

Looks like you have a great start on your weight loss... best of luck to you!!!

What great ideas for not eating too much when you are sitting down for a meal. I particularly liked the clean up before you eat idea. It's done before the meal, but it jives with my after meal trick: Brushing my teeth.

You see, I had been having a problem picking at the food left by my kids AND the uneaten food still on the stove, etc..., so I now make myself go into the bathroom after I eat my serving and brush my teeth. I like the clean feeling in my mouth after I brush, and I no longer have that flavor of something good to eat just begging me to eat more. It really works well for me.

More awesome ideas!

I too have a huge problem finishing the last few bites of what my son is eating.....crusts, last bites of mac n cheese etc....

I like the brushing the teeth idea also.....

Thanks,
Julie

I drink a bottle of water during each meal, so that makes me feel more full than I am and causes me to eat less. Sometimes if I get full, and know I should leave those last few bites on my plate, I'll shove my napkin in my food or pour some water on it. Sounds weird, but it helps me!

I always like to drink a few huge gulps after my meals....trying to trick myself into that totally full feeling, which goes away after the first potty stop...sometimes it works

Julie

Something that I do ALL the time at dinner is serve my own meal on a dessert size plate rather than the regular dinner sized plate I will use for my husband.
If I have 3 items on my plate for dinner (lean meat, brown rice/potato, and a vegetable) then I automatically limit my portion sizes for the meal to fit on the smaller plate. I can still "clean" my plate, and maintain proper portion sizes.
I also drink a lot of water and iced or hot tea to help with the feeling of fullness. I also find that exercising suppresses my appetite as well.