Why Do I Crave for Sweets After Mealtime?

There are several reasons why we have cravings for sweets after meals:

1. Habit
Habits are develop over time and are hard to break. The best way to break a habit is to make small modifications. If you are used to 1 full cup of ice cream, the next time you grab the ice cream container, reach for 3/4 cup instead and gradually reduce it to 1/2 cup. If you are used to rich, full cream ice cream, try to get a healthier option such as low fat or frozen yogurt.

2. We are still hungry
The size of our stomach is about 4-6 cups. If we eat foods that are big in volume (water rich food such as rice & noodles), soups, vegetables and fruits, we will be stuffed and have less cravings for dessert. When the stomach is full, the small intestine will shut off and produce a hormone called cholecystokinin (CCK) that sends a message to the brain to stop eating. This is the reason why buffet restaurants still make money :-). No matter how large is our appetite; our stomach has a limited capacity.

3. Our meals are boring.
One of the reason why people love to go to buffets (other than to get value for their dollars) is because the variety of the foods served. Our palates love variety. When we are bored with our meals, we tend to look for "variety" in desserts. This is the reason why a strict diet usually doesn't work in the long run.

In Asian Slim Secrets, I discuss about the foods that made you full (even stuffed) with low calories; thus you will have less temptation for sweets.

Asian foods are rich in water, fiber & resistant starches. They make you stuffed and prevent you from overeating. That's why most Asian restaurants don't sell dessert. Okay...in the US, they give you fortune cookies...:-)

Calorie Density: Key to Permanent Weight Loss

If you want to stay full and stay slim for life, it is important to understand about the concept of calorie density. Calorie density measures and compares the amount of calories in a certain amount of food.

You can use calorie density to compare foods and make better choices.

• 1 cup chicken noodle soup:
100 calories, 2 g fat
Not dense in calories

• 1 cup peanuts:
840 calories, 71 g fat
Very dense in calories

Our stomach has a finite size, about 4 to 6 cups. Suppose you really like peanuts and you eat 4 cups. That totals to 3360 calories. A healthier option is to eat 3 cups of chicken noodle soup first and then enjoy 1 cup of peanuts. This way you can still enjoy your favorite snack, stay full and reduce your intake by 2220 calories.

By combining high- and low-calorie foods, you significantly reduce your calorie intake. If you use this principle, you will be able to enjoy fatty foods and stay slim.

Crabmeat, Corn and Asparagus Soup - A Yummy Combination!

Servings: 4
Crabmeat, corn and soft asparagus spears in a creamy egg flower soup

4 cups water
4 ounces crabmeat
12 ounces canned asparagus, cut in 2-inch slices
12 ounces corn
2 tablespoons cornstarch, dissolve in ½ cup water
1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons oyster sauce or soy sauce
salt & pepper to taste

Boil water and crabmeat in a pot.

Add asparagus, corn and cornstarch solution. When it boils, stir gently while adding egg to form “the flower” in the soup.

Add oyster sauce, salt and pepper and cook until it boils again. Serve.

Per serving: 100 calories, 2 g fat (1 g saturated fat),
10 g protein, 12 g carbohydrates, 2 g dietary fiber.

Lose Weight Easily with Asian Style Soup

Would you like to stay full and still lose weight? One easy method is to eat soup as your appetizer. One of the secrets why Asian people stay slim is they eat soup before eating the main course.

When we eat soup, our stomachs quickly recognize the soup as a warm meal. As we empty our bowls, our stomachs are about ¼ full.

Asian-style soup is very light in calories. Asian people enjoy clear soups as well as thick ones. The clear soup is similar to American chicken noodle soup; Asians are just more creative with the ingredients. Broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, mushrooms, squash, beans, shrimp or tofu can be added. This kind of soup is healthy and satisfying but low in calories and fat.

For creamy soup, Asians use cornstarch instead of cream or milk to thicken the soup. Cornstarch is a complex carbohydrate (good carb) that has zero fat.


Compare the Soups

Asian Style Soup (thickened with cornstarch)
Asian-Style Corn & Egg Flower Soup (1 cup)
93 calories
1 gram fat

Western Style Soup (thickened with cream)
Cream of Broccoli Soup (1 cup)
200 calories
12 grams fat

You can eliminate 520 calories, 60 grams of fat and 200 milligrams of cholesterol in your favorite soup and still achieve the same thickness just by replacing a cup of cream with two tablespoons of cornstarch. Or, if you like the taste of cream, you can use ¼ or ½ cup of cream instead of a whole cup and still eliminate a lot of calories and fat.

If you use evaporated fat free milk instead of cream, you will eliminate 380 calories and all the fat and cholesterol per cup.

Directions: When using cornstarch, always mix it well with a few tablespoons of cold water before use to prevent lumps in your soup.

The Most Popular Diets are Fat Diets?

Many people, even doctors have been brainwashed by popular fad diets. No wonder the obesity problem in the US getting worse. I found it disturbing when I spoke to doctors that don’t know if rice is a good carb or complex carbohydrate.

However, I can’t really blame them. Doctors are trained to detect sickness and give prescriptions. With the complexity of today’s medical procedures and growing numbers of new drugs each year, it’s hard for them to keep up with all the information.

So what do you do if you would like to educate yourself about good nutrition? Go to the American Dietetic Association website and educate yourself,
www.eatright.org

Now about fad diets, I found this article to be very interesting. Some of the most popular diets are listed there,
http://eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg/ada/hs.xsl/media_11092_ENU_HTML.htm

Please share this knowledge to your family and friends.

Stay healthy,
Linda Yo

Many people told me that they want to lose weight. Yet, when I shared to them the easy method to lose weight, they didn’t believe me. You see, they were used to the more difficult methods, starving, walking or jogging and hour every day, eat only cabbage soup and so on. When I presented to them an easy method, they thought it’s too good to be true.

There is a story in the Bible where an officer had a skin disease and he traveled a great distance to find a prophet to heal him. When the prophet told him to go take a bath in a river, he was furious because he didn’t believe that such simple thing can cure him.

Sometimes when we are presented with a simple solution, we reject the solution just because we have expected a difficult solution. With Asian Slim Secrets, easy does it. However, even an easy method needs to be implemented. So start taking action today. Pull my book, Asian Slim Secrets, out of the bookself and try the recipes in the kitchen.

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