Eat Smart: Reduce your stomach.

World obesity day just past us (October 24); Nowadays man have started to eat irresponsibly leading to obesity and severe health hazards. Eating a lot of sweet and oily food instead of nutritious foods, improper timing of food intake has also worsened the situation. Most people above twenty years of age now have gone out off shape.

Over Eating Increases Stomach: Our stomach just has the size of our closed fist. When full it stretches; as it empties it regains its original shape. So when we eat large meals the stomach muscles loses its natural elasticity and stomach actually increases in size.

Experts say it takes about 3 to 4 weeks of over eating to expand our stomach size. A bigger stomach needs a lot more to feel it full. So we end up in eating more food at every meal. But it is possible to shrink our stomach; here are some tips to shrink your stomach quickly and safely.

(1) Never Skip a Meal: If you think you are saving calories by skipping your meals, you will surely eat more in your next meal for sure.

(2) Eat small meals frequently: Reduce the amount of food intake at every meal gradually. This will slowly but surely minimize the stomach’s daily stretch in a single meal. So, eat 5-6 small meals instead of 3 large meals. This reduces the size of your stomach by one-third.

(3) Stretch your meals: Make the meals last at least 20 minutes. Your stomach, mouth and brain are all connected by nerves and it takes about 20 minutes of chewing before your stomach signals to the brain that it’s full. Put down your spoon after every bite. Chew the food well and take the next bite leisurely.

(4) Increase intake of fibre-food in your meal: Take foods rich in fibre, like pulses, fruits and vegetables, which fill up your stomach fast. This means that your stomach gives the signal of fullness to the brain much before you have eaten a large amount of food.

(5) Drink cold water before meals: Drinking a large glass of ice cold water before your meals causes your stomach to shrink slightly, which will make you feel full faster.

(6) Be Positive: Negative emotions such as sadness, depression, anxiety, fear, guilt and anger push us towards overeating. Try yoga for sense of optimism.