# 3. Keep your pants on

Or at least keep them fastened!

How many of us remember our parents telling us to make sure we finished everything on our plates? How many of you still live by that rule? And how many of you devour each meal feeling fuller and fuller until you just can't take it anymore - you lean back, hands on tummy and pop! undo your top trouser button and let it all hang out? I bet that the most common meal for this to occur is dinner time - which is a tip in itself, stay tuned for that one.

Lets say it together:

"I don't HAVE to finish everything on my plate" "Its OK to have left overs"

Even better, if you can, make your portion sizes smaller so that you don't need to control how much you eat when its already piled high on your plate.

Finish eating when you are comfortable and when you know you have eaten sufficient food. Don't stuff yourself until you are about to burst and that wonderful, tasty meal you have enjoyed suddenly makes you feel sick.

For our children

Don't make them grow up with the same 'eat it all' mentality that we did. Allow them to leave food on their plate if they feel full. Obviously if you are monitoring what they eat and they are not consuming enough nutritious food for their energy output this needs to be addressed differently. I am not saying let the 6 or 7 year old that doesn't want to eat his veggies that he can leave the table because he says he's full (but still somehow has room for desert). Just that it is not always necessary to EAT IT ALL.