Weight Loss Tip #4- Choose What To Eat When

You know how you usually feel after a big meal, especially Christmas? Turkey, ham, stuffing (or dressing, however you say it), sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes with gravy, cranberry sauce, green bean casserole, buttered homemade yeast rolls, pecan and pumpkin pie, not to mention all of the fudge and Christmas goodies that come later.  Yeah!  You get the idea!   We are usually one stuffed family after a meal like that right?   It’s hard to waddle to the TV or couch, much less clean up and do dishes.!

What if I told you you never have to feel over stuffed, bloated and sleepy again after a meal?  Yep!  That’s what today’s tip is all about.

I want to share this treasure of a tip before you have your holiday meal, so you won’t overeat, and complain of those 5-10 extra lbs.  the majority of people gain over the holidays.  When you eat your food at a meal is more important than what you eat!

Huh?  you say?

Glad you asked!

Foods you eat digest in your body differently depending on the source.  Some foods take longer to digest, others digest within a few minutes.  Fruits take the least amount of time (20-30 minutes), vegetables and breads/grains next, and meat and dairy take the longest for our body to digest.  Most animal protein takes anywhere from 24 hours to 3 days to completely run its course through our body.  If a person has digestive issues, high toxicity or a backed up colon, it has been known to take 7 days!   7 days!!

Eating foods in the order in which they digest is important to help move it through our system and out.  Any food left in our colon over 24 hours begins to putrefy, and can recirculate, sending toxins back into the blood stream.  This, in turn, overworks the liver, blocks the colon, constipates, and makes us sick, causing all sorts of illness, disease, even cancer!

One should not feel sluggish,  overly full or bloated after a meal. Feeling that way is often blamed on eating too much.  Yes!  That very well could be the case, but consider that it also may be the order in which you eat your food.  (It could also be a sign of a food intolerance, but that is another article for another day.  If you think you have a food intolerance, then make an appointment with me. This is one area that I deal with a lot, and I can help you get to the bottom of this!)

Food Should Be Eaten In This Order

1.  Fruits, especially melons.  Melons digest the quickest of all foods, and should really be eaten alone.  Yes, fruit should be eaten at the beginning of the meal, and NOT for dessert.  If you eat fruit after meat, it will just sit in your colon, waiting for the meat to digest, because it can’t move.  Thus, bloating, letting out the belt, feeling like you weigh 5 extra pounds (which you probably do) can occur.

So cranberry sauce first!

2. Vegetables, non-starchy first (green beans, salad, broccoli, asparagus, Brussels sprouts), then starchy vegetables (potatoes, sweet potatoes, root vegetables, etc.)

3. Breads and Grains, beans, rice, pasta, bagels, etc.

4. Meat and dairy products

So eat your turkey last!

5.  Dessert  What about the pumpkin pie, you ask?  If you can, wait at least an hour, to give your stomach time digest your meal, then have dessert!

This is the shortened version of this topic.  Much more could be said, but give it a go.    Try it this Christmas and just see if it works. However, if you do eat and eat and eat too much, well, you will have to suffer those consequences  yourself.  🙂