[yorkietalkjilly]

I routinely weigh 122 or so but years back I reached 156 and had to restructure how I handled food. I quickly learned that I didn't need half the food I found I was eating and just halved my portions and realized initially that I would have to learn to deal with the still feeling "hunger" or empty after my meal was finished for about 10 - 20 minutes. Then, I would feel full, even on half portions or less, and learned that I didn't need to keep eating until I felt full and that if I did, I overeat. By simply training my stomach to wait for the full feeling to come, I would brew freshly ground excellent quality coffee and have it after meals and wait for the full feeling. I learned a lesson that one never eats until feeling full or you fill up on way too many calories and un-needed food and gain weight. But the great thing is is that over time, I began to feel full by the end of my meals, even on the half portions and feel fully satisfied by enough - and not too much - food. Never have had a weight problem since.

A sort of trick I learned during that weight-loss program was I filled up a lot on soup for lunch and dinner also prior to eating the entree. Plain soups are usually lower in calories and fill one up. I still love soup today and still even snack on soup, by choice, rather than cakes or cookies and never get a sugar low later. A cup of soup of warm and filling and usually very low in calories if you need a pick-me-up or get hungry between meals.