Rule Four  for the Leptin Lifestyle says: ‘Eat modest size meals and eat slowly. This reduces insulin release and hence the amount of fat deposition.’
If you’re like me, you’ll be struggling with this… I’ve always liked my food. Also I find that, when the business of the day has caused me to be eating later than intended, I’ll start snacking on everything in sight while I’m preparing my meal. This ‘distributed eating’ is not ideal but it’s doing me no harm and I’ve been following the Leptin lifestyle sufficiently that my weight has been remarkably stable over the last two years (+/- 1 pound) and I’m feeling as fit as at any point in my adult life writes Paul Curran.Â
Another drawback is cooking when you’re hungry. When that happens I find I overestimate what I need and always end up cooking lots more than necessary. That coupled with a childhood instruction to ‘clean your plate’ makes it too easy for me to over-consume. I’m learning to leave more in the pots so that I have a modest portion on my plate. That way when my plate is clean I’m generally satisfied. Afterwards I gather the leftovers into one pot for reheating later. Reheating is always done on the stove, with a lid on, and never in the microwave oven.
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Paul Curran, health promoter, explains portion control in the Leptin diet.[/caption]
Making Rule Four work is made much easier when we choose to eat the right things. Personally I find it hard to gobble down lightly steamed vegetables at the same rate as I used to dispatch a pizza. I win on two fronts. Firstly, I’m eating nutritious foods with sufficient remaining texture as to ensure that their natural enzymes are still active. This aids digestion. Secondly, as described in Rule Four, these complex carbohydrates are slow to release their glucose and hence slow the release of insulin. This reduces fat deposition and also assists with the regulation of blood sugar levels.
Eating slowly comes naturally when you’re sitting at a table with family or friends with a lively conversation flowing between you. In his book ‘I Can Make You Thin’, Paul McKenna tells us to ‘savour every mouthful’. He’s right of course. It’s difficult to bolt down your food when really trying to explore its texture and this works perfectly with the Leptin lifestyle. There is typically a 20 minute time delay between eating and your fat cells responding with a Leptin signal to the brain that you’ve had enough. So by eating slowly you’ll actually eat less.
Mindfulness generally has an important role in protecting our health and mindful eating is a very good place to start. Really use your sense of touch, smell and taste to savour your food and later we’ll look at the contribution that mindfulness makes overall.
So leave your ‘Desperate Dan’ heaped plates behind. You have no further use for them; they belong with your childhood comics. Instead experiment with new foodstuffs in smaller quantities and you’ll be surprised at how tasty and enjoyable this new lifestyle can be.
And keep reminding yourself of that svelte figure in the photograph you fixed to your mirror.
It’s happening already!***
Action Centred Health
