So recently I came across a quote saying: "Fill your stomach one third with food, one third with liquid and one third empty" (or something like that). I thought that made sense of how to eat per sitting but then the problem --- how big is my stomach & how do I know when I hit a third. Plus, I tend to eat too much & then feel disgustingly full afterwards (I think it is that whole thing about it taking longer for it to register you are full).

So I googled it & found out that an adult stomach is supposed to be about 1L (sorry don't know what that is in gallons) or 4 cups. Of course if you eat too much all the time you can stretch it out, but that's another issue.

The point of all this babble is that I have been trying to visualize 1L whenever I eat & try not to eat more than 1/3 - 1/2 of that. I haven't felt uncomfortably full since and I finally broke my 20lb plateau!!!!

I have also been trying to watch slim women when they eat to see what they do differently than me.

I definitely know what you mean about it taking a while to register that you are full. Usually when I stand up after eating, that is when I notice I'm full. As long as I'm still sitting I could eat all day. Glad to hear you broke through the plateau. I also like to look and see what slim women are eating, especially at buffets.

You have to be a little careful about watching what other people eat. I was at a Conference earlier this year where a lot of people noticed that I was remarkably thinner than last year's Conference (down from 150 to 125). About partway through the Conference, one woman told me that she was watching everything I ate so that she could learn from me. But the thing is, I wasn't bothering to stay on plan that week. I stayed away from the breakfast pastries and mid-afternoon dessert, but I otherwise ate pretty much whatever I wanted. I ate all sort of foods that I would never eat on a regular basis, including dessert with dinner, and drank lots of wine. I'm sure my calories were easily around 500-1,000 more per day than I normally consume.

I am at a lot of business events like this (and a lot of times I'm speaking at them, so I am very visible) and it's pretty rare that I worry about staying on plan (sometimes I do, but most of the time I just eat what I want). People are always asking me how I lost weight, and I always feel like I have to make it a point to explain that the way I am eating that day is not how I eat normally. But I worry about the people that don't ask, that just assume that I eat like that every day and still managed to lose 35 pounds. Sometimes I want to carry a little sign or make an announcement explaining that I normally only eat 1400 calories per day and never eat sweets.

- Barbara

It is really hard to visulaize food! For me anyways ... I feel like I am at the extreme ends at all times .. if I try to eat 1/3 of a liter (and there are two liters to a gallon) then I will eat that, even if I am full! Then if I am still hungry after eating the 1/3, I will tell myself I didn't eat that! It's mental for me, always.

Barbara, I see what you mean. I just peek and see what they are eating, but I stick to my plan. It doesn't do any good to see what thin men are eating. My DH is thin and loads up on fried foods, starches and desserts and never gains a lb.

Good point about people not necessarily being on plan in public. But I am not merely watching what slimmer women eat (& by this I mean the people I know who have always managed to maintain their weight) but how they eat. At what point they stop, how long between bites, etc. It's just a way of making me more conscientious of my eating habits.

Living in the land of skinny people. I think for the most part my host nation is into small food.....clear soup, rice and veggies and only eat the big meals once every few days. My BF loves just rice, soup and side dishes. I actually like it as well except I don't know how to make them. I am trying to learn Korean cooking but I really need a teacher.