How to stop overeating your favorite dish at dinner

July 9, 2017 Ashley 0 Comments

Okay. That’s it. You’re throwing in the napkin.

I mean, why wouldn’t you? You’re stuffed to the tongue from your meal.

But then, you remember – there’s still that delicious dish in the fridge that mom sent you home with. It was basically like a reward for surviving yet another argument infused family gathering. So… you disgustingly tuck into it. Yes. To my shame, I’ve done this once or twelve hundred times in the past, as well. And, while we’re not alone, that doesn’t make either of us feel any better about this weight loss anathema. We wanna know why? Why’s this happen? What makes us make room for yet another car on the chew-chew train of neverending nomming – when we can’t imagine so much as a morsel more of what just made us allegedly “full”?

Is it because we’re just egregious excuses for human beings?

Maybe.

Or maybe it’s because of this evolutionary mechanism we’ve all got built into us.

What it is – is this thing called sensory specific satiety. Neuroscience shows that, even after we’re all gassed up on one genre of edible fuel, we’ll still reach for another. Why? Because our bodies require variety. We need an even keel of fats, proteins, and carbs to survive. We’re not meant to eat mono-meals or only one kind’ve macronutrient. So, if all you’ve been gorging on is pasta – sans meeting your protein-y or (healthy, unsaturated) fat needs – you’ll keep trekking back to the trough for seconds and fifteenths. If you’re smart, you’ll know to add the missing macros in those additional helpings. If you’re smarter, you’ll avoid the hyperpalatabale, fried, processed, butter smothered dishes that hijack your brain, confuse your palate, and make you eat even more than unbalanced macro munching alone does.

But, if you’re smartest, you’ll think ahead so you can avoid that second trip for nibbles altogether.

See, what the aficionados of noshing suggest, is something so simple it’s painful to read:

Grab that variety from the start.

(“What? You said variety. I got three plates worth of it…”)

Um… EDIT: that’s variety in moderated amounts.

It’s just like mom used to do when she served up supper – complete with things like green beans, some protein, and maybe some avocado. (I may have enjoyed it – but I never felt a viscerally twisting need for “more” after mom’s more well-rounded dinners, did you?) I know, right? It’s so face-palmingly obvious, you kinda want to pretend you already knew it. And, in truth, you probably did. You just ignored it like so many’ve us do. Why? Because, once we start adulting, it’s ironically easy to start eating like a kid would if they could choose dinner for themselves. (“Mac ‘n cheese covered it Nesquick powder!”) Okay, maybe not that bad. But if variety-devoid takeaway’s easier after a day of grinding and grinding gears through traffic, many of us do it – unless we’ve got mini-me’s holding us accountable. We don’t treat ourselves with the same respect for our own health – as we would if there were little ones to care for. If we did, though, we’d remember to make sure each macro’s on our plate – and flavor ‘em each up uniquely to satisfy our palates’ desires for salty, bitter, and sour stuff alike. And it’d save us from breaking the bank (on so much food) and the scale, alike. So, instead’ve slowly mowing your maw through all the buffet options one at a time, dole a little diversity onto your plate from the start.

Because variety might be the spice of life.

But, in the right portions, it can also be the satisfying slicer of lbs.