I have blogged on food myths, but, this time let's talk a look at parent myths. Are you still following eating habits that your parents taught you decades ago? It's time to see if that advice stands up to the test of time -- or if some of the things your parents taught you about food are your family's diet myths. Diet myths are handed down for generations. After All don't we listen to our elders when we are children. Let's take a look at how nutrition has evolved over the years.
Hurry up! Did your parents coach you to wolf down your breakfast every morning so you wouldn't miss the school bus? If you still eat in a hurry, you might miss your body's cues that you're full. It takes 20 minutes for the brain to register that you feel full. If you eat too quickly, you can scarf down a lot of food in a 20-minute period, and then you feel stuffed.
Solution: Make a conscious effort to slow down. Many people don't put a sandwich down until they've eaten the whole thing, but it will slow you down. Also, putting your utensils down between bites should help.
You deserve dessert today! You may have learned this habit early, if you earned a trip to the ice cream parlor for a good report card. Or your parents may have promised you dessert as a reward for eating your broccoli or other vegetables. They had good intentions, but this is a bribe that sends a message that vegetables aren't appealing on their own.
Solution: Stop using food as a prize. Instead, reward yourself with a movie, a manicure, or a phone call to a friend. Do reward yourself for your achievements -- just don't make food the reward.
Finish everything on your plate. Did you grow up hearing that at every dinner? Did your parents make you stay at the dinner table until you'd finished everything on your plate? And are you still eating that way today? If so, you may not be heeding your body's signals that you're full and that it's OK to stop eating.
Solution: Try leaving something on your plate. But more importantly, stay in tune with how you're feeling. Are you full? Are you eating just because there is still food on your plate? Be particularly careful when you're eating out -- the food is appealing, the plates are huge, and you may want to eat it all because you paid for it. If there are large portions, ask for half now and have them box the other half, so you don't run into trouble.
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