Sooooo….we were eating dinner tonight and we had several dishes on the table (a couple meat and veggie dishes, one just veggie dish) , plus rice, plus duck soup (oh, so delicious).  In China, you don’t put food on your plate.  You have a bowl of rice, and you sort of just reach into the serving dishes with your chopsticks, grab a bit, put it in your rice bowl, eat it and then go back for more.  We had great conversation, lots of food, a couple bowls of soup each, etc.  Then you just sort of pick out your favorite bits with your chopsticks - the peanuts from one dish, the garlic slice from another.  I said, “I have no idea how much I’ve actually eaten.”  I just knew I was content.  My Chinese friend got this puzzled look on her face and said, “I never thought of that.  This is just how I grew up eating.  I never think about how MUCH I’ve eaten.”

This method is totally according to hunger and fullness signals.  And I haven’t seen very many overweight Chinese people yet.  I think they get more exercise than us, but really and truly, they can pack away the food!  And most are wonderfully, naturally, and effortlessly thin.  They don’t even think about it.  What a blessing.