Three Meals a Day -- Wow, What a Concept!
Here is a novel concept to help you lose weight Italian style; eat three meals a day.
Just what is so earth-shattering about this? After all, don't most people eat three meals a day? Well, to put it bluntly, no. They eat three meals a day, plus a snack here and there, plus dessert and another snack. And that's not counting a tidbit off the children's plate and some of those taste treats they hand out at stores.
In other words, I'm suggesting three meals a day and nothing in between. When was the last time you did that? Does that sound hard? It's not, if you eat the right kind of meals.
I came across this Italian "secret" when I went to the Tuscan Isle of Elba to study Italian. Or, we could even say I was forced into it. Because there was nothing to eat between meals.
I was staying at a little hotel a 20 or 30 minute walk down the beach from the little town where the Italian classes were held on the terrace of a nice hotel. Breakfast was a light affair of cappuccino or a latte and an Italian cornetto, which is kind of like a croissant only more bready.
Class started around 9 a.m. We had a short break around 11 a.m., when everyone went inside to the coffee bar for an espresso or some other kind of coffee. No one ate anything, and no one complained. We went back to class for another couple of hours and then broke for lunch.
Lunch was over by 2 p.m., and it was worth waiting for -- either a delicious pizza in town, or a three-course meal at the hotel. Then there was a six-hour wait until dinner at 8 p.m. The town was a long walk away, and even if you went there, most things were closed, so you couldn't go grazing through the marketplace, munching on things that would only ruin your appetite for dinner. And that was a good thing, because dinner was a grand 4-course affair.
It was while eating these three and four-course meals that I lost weight without even trying. How was that possible? One was because of the amount of exercise I was getting walking up and down the beach and up and down stairs. But the other was because of the clampdown on snacking. Of course it probably didn't hurt that the food was all fresh, without preservatives. And then there were the portions, which I'll be talking about in a different article.
What I learned was to appreciate what I call the experience of "sweet longing" for my next meal. We don't do this in America. When we're hungry, we grab for food. But the thing is, if you've eaten right, you shouldn't be that hungry. And the other thing is that you're supposed to be hungry the next time you sit down at the table. If you snack you won't be. At least you won't be as hungry as you ought to be. And in that way, you deny yourself the real exquisiteness of having your hungry satisfied.
If you're eating throughout the day -- or snacking, or to make it sound more acceptable, grazing -- you never work up a proper appetite for you next meal. You're not getting the most out of your food!
So what's an appropriate meal if you want to eat only three a day? Well, for lunch, I wouldn't suggest a lettuce salad with a carrot stick. Then you really will be hungry! Try something satisfying, like maybe a dish of pasta cooked al dente (with a vegetable.) Not too much, and not with a fattening sauce. Eat the pasta slowly. Pasta has a satisfying consistency that allows you to enjoy the experience of chewing. Plus, it has staying power. It won't induce you to snack.
And if you need a little something afterwards, be like the Italians and have a piece of fruit instead of a rich dessert. Once you give up junk food and get it out of your system, you'll learn to appreciate the taste of real food again. You'll find fruits delicious, satisfying -- and absolutely sweet enough. You'll appreciate their aroma, their color and taste. Especially when they're ripe and juicy and in season.
And you'll be more in harmony with nature -- both your own and that in the world around you. This will assist your ability to lose weight, because being overweight is an indication of being out of harmony.
For some delicious recipes to help you practice your new way of eating, you might want to grab a copy of my book Weight Loss, Italian Style! Recipes to Drool Over at www.weightlossitalianstyle.com/products.html