Secret to Longevity: Eat light and Live Long

Wouldn’t you like to be 100 and bouncing around? I was just browsing the news and out popped an article about Jiroemon Kimura, who celebrated his 116th birthday. Surely there has to be a secret to his longevity, right? It’s simple:

Living a life of moderation, avoiding smoking, and eating until you’re only 80 percent full.

Much like the 2/8 Golden Rule article I wrote about, this is another one that confirms. To life a long life, we must moderate what we do and eat, as well as eating until we’re 80% full – because then, we know we’re not overeating.

How do I know when I’m 80% full?

The biggest problems it that there’s a lag between the stomach and mind. You’re likely to still feel hungry even though you’re suppose to be full. It takes almost 15-20 minutes for your body to create that fullness feeling.

The way you can tell if you’re 80% full is feeling whether there’s pressure in your stomach. If you feel satisfied, but you can still eat more, then you’re most likely to be 80% full. If you still feel hungry, then no – you are still hungry. However, please remember our bodies don’t always get fullness and hunger correct, as sometimes eating more expands our stomach, so we naturally can eat more without feeling full. Getting your stomach back to normal can take up to 15-20 meals.

Tips for Healthy Eating Habits

Tip #1: Eat slower, enjoy food. Chew thoroughly!

Tip #2: Listen to your body. Ask yourself, are you still hungry? Do you still need to eat more? If you’re no longer feeling hungry, stop eating.

Tip #3: Don’t wait until you’re starving to death before you eat. If you’re that hungry, you’ll probably gulp down the food as fast as the speed of sound, and not realise that you’re full.

Tip #4: Split your meal in bits. Eat a bit, then take a little break and see if you still feel hungry.

Tip #5: Avoid looking at food pictures or videos of people eating. That can trigger your mind in making you feel that you’re fuller than you actually are.

Tip #6: Cook less. Often when we’re eating, we start feeling full but because there are still food on the plate, we feel the need to finish it. If we have smaller portions, we won’t have left overs for us to eat even if we wanted to.

Tip #7: Eat smaller, yet more frequent meals rather than one giant meal.

Tip #8: Have some soup before you start eating, as that can fill your stomach a little and help you feel fuller faster.

Tip #9: Eat half of what you normally eat, then check how you feel after. If you feel pressure on your stomach, then you’re 80% full.

Tip #10: Make sure there’s plenty of fruits and vegetables in your diet.