Don’t you hate those people who can eat as much as they want and still not gain a thing? They’ve been blessed with a fast metabolism and a good amount of lean muscle mass. But eventually, even they will have to watch how much they eat to avoid becoming overweight. With the natural aging process, their metabolism will slow gradually, forcing them to change their eating habits.

So, for all of you who are watching what you eat, are following an exercise regimen and are on a diet, or used to have a fast metabolism but now don’t, here are 4 helpful tips to keep your appetite satiated without over eating at the dinner table (the kitchen counter, buffet bar, or wherever else you tend to gorge). Controlling your portions will allow you to maintain a healthy balance between the amount of calories you consume and the amount of calories you burn throughout a single day.

1. Eat slowly. It takes a little while to send the message to your brain that your stomach is full – about 20 minutes. That means you have to eat more slowly, savouring every bite you take. Appreciating your food allows your stomach to send the message to your brain that it’s full, before too much food is consumed. This helps prevent overeating, and feeling satiated but not stuffed.

2. Know how much a “portion” is. To control your portions, you need to know what exactly a “portion” is. Monitor what you eat and record what the average size of specific foods are. Then, simply maintain those sizes or reduce them if it’s too much. It may be tedious at first, but your waistline will thank you for your diligence.

If you’d like to know what a healthy portion size is, you can read the nutrition label to see what a serving size is or refer to charts available on sites devoted to nutrition, such as the one available on the Health Canada website called Canada’s Food Guide.

3. Less is more. Fruits, vegetables, and whole grains can provide lasting energy despite being low in calories.  Consider eating more of these foods instead of things like meat and cheese, which are chock full of calories. The good thing about this is that you can eat way more lower calorie foods, both in quantity and variety.

4. Control your cravings. You want a cookie, but to satisfy your craving, do you really need to eat the whole thing? Try taking just one bite and savour it slowly. In many cases, one bite is just enough to satisfy that craving. Or better yet, experts say that the feeling of craving for a food lasts about 10 minutes. So before you even take a bite, try to occupy yourself with an activity for 15 minutes. Chances are, by the time the 15 minutes is up, you won’t be craving that cookie anymore.

The American Heart Association says Americans are eating an average of 22 teaspoons of sugar on a daily basis, mostly in the form of candy and fizzy drinks. The statistics are unavailable for us up here north of the border, but it’s probably safe to say that the figure isn’t much different.

According to the World Health Organization, added sugar should be limited to 12 teaspoons, or 48 grams, per day for people on an average diet of 2000 calories. However, this figure differs from the recommendation of the American Heart Association, suggesting 6 teaspoons, or 24 grams, is better for women and 9 teaspoons, or 36 grams, for men.

Added sugars is defined as any sweetener that has been added to a food/drink by the manufacturer, consumer or chef. It can be in the form of honey, molasses, or maple syrup, or refined or processed and sourced from such things as cane, beets, and corn. These refined sugars are more commonly known as table sugar, corn sugar, corn syrup, fructose, dextrose, molasses and evaporated cane juice.

The category does not include naturally occurring forms of sugars, such as the lactose in milk or the fructose in fruit and vegetables.

Taking The First Step
If you haven’t considered limiting your sugar intake, then it’s probably a good time to start – especially if you’re on a diet, are concerned about developing heart disease, or have a family history of health problems related to obesity or diabetes.

One of the easiest ways to reduce sugar intake is to simply read the ingredient and nutrition label on foods prior to consumption. The amount of sugars present in the product should be listed and if it’s first on the ingredient list, you know that there’s a lot. On the nutrition label, remember to not only check the sugar amount, but also see how much a serving size is to determine whether that’s how much you’ll actually eat. Unfortunately, most labels do not distinguish between added sugars and naturally occurring sugars.

If you’ve got a sweet tooth, another way to reduce sugar in your diet is to satisfy cravings with fruit, fresh and dried. Pineapples are extremely high in naturally occurring sugars, making them an ideal treat for those with a sweet tooth. Dried fruit, like raisins, dates, and figs, are also packed with natural sweetness. You can even try replacing sugar in baked goods with apple sauce, apple juice, or dried fruit.

And if all else fails and you still find yourself consuming too much, increase your daily physical activity. Burning those calories from sugar is vital to control its effects in the body.

Admittedly, reducing sugar intake can be difficult. While it will probably be difficult in the beginning, you’ll find that once your palate has adjusted to less sweet things, you’ll increase your sensitivity to sweetness (much like salt, another topic to discuss in the future!)