How often are you wishing you hadn't taken that last bite of food? Or indulging in another (or third) helping when you knew you had been already getting full? Listen, we aren't saying any one of this is the worst thing, but we know how easily we slip into the habit of overeating.
This can lead to restricting ourselves on dietary fads or registering for pricy diet plans. If those meet your needs, great! However, when you are falling off the wagon more often than not, you might want to consider using a different approach. This is where a Japanese technique referred to as “hara hachi bun me” can produce a difference.
According to Medium author Kaki Okumura, the saying translates to “8/10 of your stomach.” As you can sort of guess from that, it means cutting yourself off whenever you feel like you're roughly 80 % full. There you have it. No calorie counting, carbs, or time spent fasting in between meals. It might sound a tad too simple, but there's a bit more into it.
Although hara hachi bun me doesn't restrict you against the type of what you eat, Okumura suggests focusing on nutrient-rich meals rather than empty calories (like poker chips or goodies). Less nourishing food tends to make you feel stuffed quickly, only keep you full for any small amount of time. That may, of course, result in eating more and more-and more. If you concentrate on fruits, vegetables, proteins, and whole grains, however, you'll be able to feel full longer and comprehend the signals your stomach is sending you.
But how can you actually stop yourself from eating when you're 80 percent full? Similar to intuitive eating, Okumura recommends chowing down slowly and taking breaks to provide your body time for you to process the food and interpret how you're really feeling. It is a bit of a guessing game, but like most things, the more you take action, the greater you can find that sweet 80 % full spot. Even if you do splurge on a treat every now and then, learning to stop when you're at that 80 % point will still assist you to slim down without starving yourself.
One other major suggestion from Okumura: Stop obsessing over what you eat. That may seem like the exact complete opposite of everything we've written so far, there is however a noticeable difference between being mindful and letting food constantly consume your thoughts. Hopefully, should you stick to the other strategies for hara hachi bun me, it should become routine. You'll then be able to release space in your head for additional fun stuff rather than stressing about how many calories you've consumed.
