Full -

Day 33 -

Linda Spangle, in "!00 Days Of Weight Loss" ask us how do we know we are full? She tells us that we need to pay attention to our abdomen rather than the food on out plate. She gives us a fullness scale to help us with our awareness. Like her hunger scale, her fullness scale starts with "0" - that time, usually between meals when you are not hungry even though you are not full. Her "+1" on the scale is when you are content , not needing more food , "+2" is when you are a little too full, and "+3" is when you are very full to the point of being really uncomfortable.

Ms. Spangle tells us that "At some point you'll begin to notice a slight pressure or change within your stomach area. Soon after that, you'll reach a level where you'll feel satisfied and you abdomen feels comfortable or just right. You have now reached "+1" on the fullness scale." This is our goal - this is where we want to put down our forks and stop eating.

I think I really need to work on this because normally I put a certain amount of food on my plate and than eat until I have finished everything. Even though the food I put on my plate is based on calories, serving sizes, and nutritional needs, I often think that it is more food than I need but I eat it any way. I find it hard to balance getting enough protein, and the number of suggested servings of fruits and veggies, grains, etc., without eating more food than I really need to be full at "+!". I would be very interested in knowing if others have this problem.