What do you do when you're already full but your plate isn't? If you only have a couple of bites left, you probably end up finishing everything—it'd be a waste not to, after all. But what if we told you that this habit of yours may be why you're often bloated, experience poor digestion, or have an unhealthy relationship with food?
Don't worry—you're not alone. Most of us feel obligated to polish off our plates. But to avoid this, there's more to it than just controlling our portion sizes. This Confucian teaching, and a lifestyle trick made popular by a Japanese saying, may be just the thing you need to lose weight, keep it off, and gain a healthier relationship with food.
The Secret: Hara Hachi Bun Me
Called hara hachi bun me, or "eat until 80% full," the trick is simple: put your utensils down as soon as you start feeling full. Better yet, do it as soon as you stop feeling hungry. By eating until you're almost full but not quite, you avoid overstuffing your stomach with more food it no longer needs.
You might think: Isn't this just calorie restriction? While you can certainly see it that way, it's easier to think of it as a positive lifestyle adjustment (one you can continue to do even after you've lost the weight) than a negative one. We often associate "restriction" with something we're forbidden to eat. But hara hachi bun me isn't telling you to only eat X amount of calories a day—it's simply suggesting that you eat until you're almost full.
Encourages Mindful Eating
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When we're hungry, we tend to think we can eat much more than our stomachs actually need, which might lead us to pack our plates with too-big portions and eat too quickly. It takes around 20 minutes for your stomach to signal to the brain that it's full. But when we eat too quickly, it's harder to notice these signals, and before you know it, you feel stuffed and bloated.
Hara hachi bun me, in contrast, may encourage you to eat more mindfully. After every few bites, you might develop a habit of checking in with yourself: Am I full yet? Am I feeling satisfied yet? It may also encourage you to really taste what you're eating, so that you enjoy your meal more.
Supports Healthy Weight Loss and Maintenance
Hara hachi bun me doesn't just support healthy weight loss—it can also help you keep it off for good. In the beginning, you might still feel the need to finish what's on your plate despite feeling full, but over time, as you get more accustomed to the habit, you'll learn to stop when your body doesn't feel hungry anymore.
And, as previously mentioned, this eating philosophy isn't as restrictive as the traditional diet. Instead of telling yourself you "can't eat" something or that you can only eat a certain number of calories, hara hachi bun me is a more sustainable "diet" plan that you can actually continue following even after you've reached your weight goal. That means it can help you maintain a healthy weight and lifestyle, and food will continue to be something you enjoy savoring.
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