Filling Your Tummy

Hello again and thanks for checking back into the Wyld Wyrds.

The human body fascinates me and the stomach in particular. It’s this little pouch-like muscle  that does all the work of digesting the food we cram into it. Since this is "heart" of the food production area of the body I decided to do a little more research.

Did you know that the normal capacity of the stomach without food is about 2.5 ounces? It can expand to hold up to about 1 quart and it often times feels like we go way beyond that especially at holiday times or when visiting our local buffet! I grabbed one of our usual soup bowls the other day and filled it with water like I was ladling in soup. I them dumped it into a large measuring container...and did it again. I usually eat about two bowls of soup plus crackers and sometimes olives or a piece of vegan "cheese". Two bowls of water (soup) came in at about 3 cups. A quart is only 4 cups! When you add the crackers, olives and "cheese" you can easily fill your stomach to capacity!

Another thing to consider is the time lag between when you start cramming food in and when the stomach starts telling you it's getting full. It can take 20 minutes for the stomach to get the message so it's important that we slow down our eating. Taking our time enjoying the food can be as simple as putting the fork down between bite and chewing the food completely. I know, sometimes that's a whole lot easier said than done! I mean sometimes I have to stop myself from just gobbling...wolfing down a tasty meal!!

So that's my takeaway for the day is to take a smaller portion and to slow down your eating. Don't try and fill the stomach to capacity and take your time enjoying it so that the stomach can catch up and let you know when it's getting full.

The first week finished with a total of over 48 miles walked averaging just under 7 miles a day and down not quite 2 pounds. Not bad for a start!

Oh, one last thing. I mentioned at the onset that I needed to check in with my physician before I got going. Well...that plan didn't work quite like that. I called about getting in to a new doctor since I haven't had one here for years. The new physician is booked out clear to the end of September but I do have an appointment scheduled and will let you know the outcome.

Stay WYLD, friends! -G

(P.S. - I know sometimes this sounds like I'm really effing wonderful but in reality I'm just an old guy who is trying really hard to change my life for the better. If you get something out of it...fantastic.)