Banishing Gluttony
I have some practical tips for those of you who are watching your weight.
I have been watching what I eat during means for almost a month now(note, I watch, I do not control, no way :). It came about when I was affected by prolonged period of indigestions following weeks of consequetive pigging in the office during lunch. It extended weeks after we stopped the practice, and IT FEELS HORRIBLE.
The following normally happen
1) Asians like variety in their food and we want to feed everyone, so we tend to over order
2) As a result, we are not able to finish the food
3) Being the Asians we are, it's a practice that we should not let the food go to waste
4) That's when we start to "kongsi", distributing the remains and clearing up the "spread".
A classic example of our once a week lunch spread would be: Char Kway Teow, Tao Pok Yew Jia Kueh, Chicken Rice (the largest size), Orh Neng... It was shared among me and my 3 other colleagues. By the time we finished the food... You can imagine the fullness, belching and bloating we got.
It was decided one day that we would stop ever since one of the colleague was told by the doctor he has to watch his diet, as it is affecting his health, specifically, his feet. Me, on the other hand decided that we should not make ourselves, specifically myself, suffer after such heavy meals. And as mentioned earlier, the indigestion problems started to occur, even when I was having regular lunch.
So I am now practicing the following habits when it comes to food:
(Disclaimer: These are habits practice by the author of this blog, and the pointers are definitely not endorsed by any nutritionist or dietitian. Please ensure you have a balance diet if you choose to eat lesser.)
1) Think carefully: Do I need that much energy from the food I get from the hawker centre? Am I going to use those energy AFTER breakfast or lunch or dinner?
Not necessary. All I do is sit at the table and click away. Even the occasional visit to the client's office requires little energy. Our hawker food provides far too much energy than I need as an office worker.
Unless I plan to work out after office hours, I'd think it's best to eat less or no dinner.
2) Avoid looking at food if you are not hungry.
It's as simple as that. I realised that if I go open the pots and pans when I reached home, there is a high tendency that I would eat the food that comes to sight, even though I am not hungry for dinner at all.
3) If you are hungry during odd times, eat something.
Yes, just SOME THING will do. I do not need to have a plate of fried carrot cake just for that occasional hunger. Light snacks will really do just fine, one or two pieces of crackers/biscuits, a pear, an apple... Water can also trick the stomach to believe it's full. One glass of water normally works for me. Once my stomach receives the signal that something is making it's way down, it'd stop protesting.
4) Don't say to yourself, the food takes 20mins to be digested.
Because what do I do in between? I'd eat somemore. It's the truth, but it can also be a lie you tell to yourself.
5) Save the treats on weekends; One treat a day.
Again, as Asians, we are constantly surrounded by friends who likes to eat (besides the fact that it's the most popular and easiest Singaporean thing to do together as a group). You can eat everything, but keep it to small portions. And remember, you can say "no" if you can't take anymore. It's your stomach. You choose.
6) If you are not hungry, you are not hungry.
Don't eat because it's time to eat. Your friend maybe wolfing down his dinner because he was helping out at the warehouse, but don't do the same if you are not hungry. Afterall, food is aplenty in Singapore, you can always eat when you feel hungry. Scared no food meh?
7) Order food just enough for yourself or your friends for a start.
You can always order more if you are hungry. Chances are, the just enough will be just enough. This way, no food is wasted, and nobody will moan about the stomach being too full.
I have no indigestion problems now (some pills helped), and it's nice to be able to enjoy the other things in life after a light meal.
All in all, I think food should be enjoyed, and not be gorged or forced down. Why pay to suffer (paying money for the food, over order, and suffered stomach discomfort)? Hence in closure, I've attached a link here about local food. You may want to use it as a reference if you have friends from overseas coming over.
But go easy when you order for yourself, yeah? :)
+For more on Singaporean food, go to Wikipedia from here+.
I have been watching what I eat during means for almost a month now(note, I watch, I do not control, no way :). It came about when I was affected by prolonged period of indigestions following weeks of consequetive pigging in the office during lunch. It extended weeks after we stopped the practice, and IT FEELS HORRIBLE.
The following normally happen
1) Asians like variety in their food and we want to feed everyone, so we tend to over order
2) As a result, we are not able to finish the food
3) Being the Asians we are, it's a practice that we should not let the food go to waste
4) That's when we start to "kongsi", distributing the remains and clearing up the "spread".
A classic example of our once a week lunch spread would be: Char Kway Teow, Tao Pok Yew Jia Kueh, Chicken Rice (the largest size), Orh Neng... It was shared among me and my 3 other colleagues. By the time we finished the food... You can imagine the fullness, belching and bloating we got.
It was decided one day that we would stop ever since one of the colleague was told by the doctor he has to watch his diet, as it is affecting his health, specifically, his feet. Me, on the other hand decided that we should not make ourselves, specifically myself, suffer after such heavy meals. And as mentioned earlier, the indigestion problems started to occur, even when I was having regular lunch.
So I am now practicing the following habits when it comes to food:
(Disclaimer: These are habits practice by the author of this blog, and the pointers are definitely not endorsed by any nutritionist or dietitian. Please ensure you have a balance diet if you choose to eat lesser.)
1) Think carefully: Do I need that much energy from the food I get from the hawker centre? Am I going to use those energy AFTER breakfast or lunch or dinner?
Not necessary. All I do is sit at the table and click away. Even the occasional visit to the client's office requires little energy. Our hawker food provides far too much energy than I need as an office worker.
Unless I plan to work out after office hours, I'd think it's best to eat less or no dinner.
2) Avoid looking at food if you are not hungry.
It's as simple as that. I realised that if I go open the pots and pans when I reached home, there is a high tendency that I would eat the food that comes to sight, even though I am not hungry for dinner at all.
3) If you are hungry during odd times, eat something.
Yes, just SOME THING will do. I do not need to have a plate of fried carrot cake just for that occasional hunger. Light snacks will really do just fine, one or two pieces of crackers/biscuits, a pear, an apple... Water can also trick the stomach to believe it's full. One glass of water normally works for me. Once my stomach receives the signal that something is making it's way down, it'd stop protesting.
4) Don't say to yourself, the food takes 20mins to be digested.
Because what do I do in between? I'd eat somemore. It's the truth, but it can also be a lie you tell to yourself.
5) Save the treats on weekends; One treat a day.
Again, as Asians, we are constantly surrounded by friends who likes to eat (besides the fact that it's the most popular and easiest Singaporean thing to do together as a group). You can eat everything, but keep it to small portions. And remember, you can say "no" if you can't take anymore. It's your stomach. You choose.
6) If you are not hungry, you are not hungry.
Don't eat because it's time to eat. Your friend maybe wolfing down his dinner because he was helping out at the warehouse, but don't do the same if you are not hungry. Afterall, food is aplenty in Singapore, you can always eat when you feel hungry. Scared no food meh?
7) Order food just enough for yourself or your friends for a start.
You can always order more if you are hungry. Chances are, the just enough will be just enough. This way, no food is wasted, and nobody will moan about the stomach being too full.
I have no indigestion problems now (some pills helped), and it's nice to be able to enjoy the other things in life after a light meal.
All in all, I think food should be enjoyed, and not be gorged or forced down. Why pay to suffer (paying money for the food, over order, and suffered stomach discomfort)? Hence in closure, I've attached a link here about local food. You may want to use it as a reference if you have friends from overseas coming over.
But go easy when you order for yourself, yeah? :)
+For more on Singaporean food, go to Wikipedia from here+.
Labels: food, gluttony, healthy eating, singapore
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