Day 1 -Three Bites to being Full & Satisfied

This might have been an odd first to do, especially on Thanksgiving. But I recently read an article that said the typical Thanksgiving Meal contains over 3,000 calories. This is not including the snacking before or after. This is JUST the Thanksgiving Feast. By the way, it takes 3,500 to add another pound to your body, and lets face it ladies, who wants another pound added their thighs! So after doing more research I decided to give it a try.

I put only a spoonful of everything I wanted to try on my plate. Then I took only three bites of everything. I ate slow. And if I didn't like what I was eating I didn't worry about hurting anyone's feelings, I just stopped eating it. (I figured I could use those extra calories toward an extra bite of pie!) I finished the same time as everyone else AND I was full and felt satisfied! I really doubted that I would. Then when it came time for pie I got a little slice of all the pies I wanted to try and only took three bites of each. So really, I probably ended up eating a nice slice of pie total, but I got to taste them all and by the end of the 'Feast' I didn't feel stuffed to the gills, like I usually do on Thanksgiving. Plus, by dinner time I didn't feel guilty eating leftovers.

It was really fun. Maybe next year I'll do the same thing.

Research:

Science tells us that food loses its appeal after the first few bites. A report in the 1981 British Medical Bulletin confirmed that when food is available, we don’t eat just one thing. Our body instinctively searches for a variety of nutrients to support the biological systems that function to ensure our survival. This is why we still eat dessert after a filling meal.

The First Bite. The first bite wakes up your palate. 

The Second Bite. This bite is to experience flavor.

The Third Bite. The third bite is for pure pleasure.
(I don't know that I really thought of this while I was eating, I was just focused on seeing if this worked).

“It’s not a lack of will power as much as it is our overabundant and pleasure-stimulating food environment,” says Dr. David Kessler, former Yale Medical School dean and author of The End of Overeating.

We, as Americans, don't know when to stop.