HOLLYWOOD—It’s cool being able to eat as much as you want of certain foods—namely fruits and veggies—this was the gift I got from Harvey and Marilyn Diamond’s “Fit for Life.” An unlimited food option is appealing in a diet book. (Now I can hear some guy asking for the all-you-can-eat pizza and chocolate diet. Sorry, bud, it’s fruits and veggies.) To be sure, it’s a message that’s worth putting in neon for lots of eateries across our land—All You Can Eat—but in a significant way and hinders us from fully growing up in our dietary practices and kindles pursuing the elusive Valhalla of a full tummy.
On a mission to lose 30 pounds in 30 days, it behooves us to face the question head on. Yes, you can eat all you like. But is it wise? Look, I once ate 11 and a half bowls of split-pea soup in Buellton and the lesson there, as I staggered queasily back to my car, was boundaries are beautiful.
Now, for those of you truly driven to become 30 pounds lighter, let’s face this biggie: how to manage your eating plan in the face of the all-you-can-eat abundance and mentality which arouse supersized appetites. Our problem (and blessing) is being surrounded by a superabundance of food and goodies, bad choices and good. How do we deal with that? Two words: Think small. Think small starting where you live, in your choice of cups and plates you use daily, and this will serve to reinforce your good habits and bolster your aim to lighten up.
Start by acquiring an 8 ounce cup—the measurement handed down by the English—it couldn’t be clearer in the name: a cup. Downsizing cups cuts down on the amount you are consuming and it will clearly foster better digestion. Drinking smaller amounts supports the thrust of our plan by enabling the stomach’s enzymes and acids to work at their most effective breaking down foods. Less blood-energy will go into digestion and your weight-loss will be enhanced. Getting an 8-ounce cup for yourself is a way to say yes to a saner size of beverage than the Big Gulp.
Smaller plates and dishes help mold more moderate eating. In 30 pounds in 30 days embrace the salad plate as your dinner plate, to heap with veggies and your entrée. Also, a perfectly round bowl, six inches across, is a thing of great beauty and practicality because it can hold your heaping salad and veggie, and later serve for soup or broth. At the end of the day, you’ve got only one plate to wash.
Using smaller cups and plates is a method to align with your desire to lighten up 30 pounds in 30 days. You’ll be amazed how smaller containers condition our appetites—likewise the increasing size of shopping carts over time has stimulated the urge to buy. Smaller plates have a power of boosting greater satisfaction with smaller portions. It’s a concept that can be carried beyond your home.
To people on the run, who don’t usually use their own plates: when you go to fast-food restaurants, order the small drink size, order the single burger, instead of the triple. Think small. Consider that the smallest size at chain-food establishments is 12 ounces, you’ll want to cultivate pouring out the extra or asking for less drink.
Now, to end on a wild note, how about the elimination of plates and cups altogether? That would be fast food, the fastest food of all, perfect for home or when you’re on the run.
Nature, in its perfection, has packaged some things perfectly. An orange, a peach, or a grapefruit, or a single egg–they are un-improvable, these juice-loaded, nutrition- and vitamin-packed globes. One day try eating only one grapefruit for breakfast or one orange. Of course you must look forward to it, nourish the anticipation, sit yourself down and you must enjoy each individual bite; chew it slowly and taste its succulence. Try it out. The key to enjoying a single piece of fruit for breakfast lies in enjoying the fruit fully, and then throwing yourself into the day’s activities. And it will further enhance losing 30 pounds in 30 days.
Humorist Grady Miller is the author of “Lighten Up Now: The Grady Diet,” available on Kindle. He can be reached at grady.miller@canyon-news.com.
By Grady Miller