How to lighten your menu and not gain weight. Advice from Dr. Michaela Bilic

With so many culinary temptations, it's hard to eat without gaining weight. Take into account the advice of Dr. Michaela Bilic to maintain your figure without depriving yourself of good taste in food.

“Do you want to eat what you like and take care of your figure? There are little secrets and simple gestures with which you can reduce the calorie content of food without sacrificing taste.

✳️ Start with a raw vegetable salad or soup as a snack. The stomach does not know how to count calories, but it is impressive in volume. If you partially fill it with fresh vegetables or water from soup, there will be less room for a second dish.

✳️ Drink water in small sips while eating. There is a myth that drinking water during meals thins digestive secretions. Nothing more false, water combines with food and delays the emptying of the stomach, so we fill up with less food. Attention, water drunk before meals does not stay in the stomach and does not satisfy the feeling of hunger... this is another myth!

✳️ Eat slowly and chew well, ideally 30 times each sip. The taste buds in the mouth and the olfactory receptors in the nose need prolonged contact with food to evaluate its quality. We know we are full when the first bite of food reaches the junction of the small and large intestines after traveling 5 m along the digestive tract. Or it takes 10-15 minutes. The more they chew, the less we eat.

✳️ Use separate plates with a diameter of no more than 25 cm. Psychological research shows that we eat more if the plate is larger and full of food. Avoid plates placed in the middle of the table that allow you to reserve, we must learn to fill ourselves with one portion, limited in quantity.

✳️ Skip dessert and finish your meal with coffee, it helps digestion and reduces sweet cravings. After eating sweets, there is a risk that you will crave something salty... and you will not stop eating. It is preferable to snack on sweets separately from meals so that you can enjoy them leisurely. A mini cake, ice cream, fruit or some chocolate are dessert options that you can have every now and then. Everything is allowed... in moderation!” explains Dr. Mihaela Bilic.