What if, to eat better, you simply had to learn to stop a little earlier? On Instagram, Doctor Jimmy Mohamed defends a habit inspired by Sweden: “Lagom”, which means “neither too much nor too little”. A simple method to listen more to your hunger, without diet or prohibitions.
Lagom: eat without going to the point of being too full
To explain this principle, Jimmy Mohamed makes a very simple observation: “Very often, we eat and stop eating when we can’t take it anymore.” The problem ? Satiety signals sometimes arrive before. But between habits, the portions served and the desire to finish our plate, we continue to eat despite everything.
“Lagom”, which means “neither too much nor too little”, therefore consists of aiming for a sufficient quantity, without going so far as to have a full stomach. Concretely, this can involve slightly smaller portions, taking more time to chew and above all learning to put down your cutlery when hunger has disappeared.
“The idea is not to starve yourself, not to get frustrated. (…) you will re-appropriate the mechanisms of hunger”, assures Jimmy Mohamed.
It is therefore not a new regime. The objective is rather to find better sensations at the table and to gradually reconnect with your hunger and satiety signals.
The 80% rule: a principle also present in Japan
To illustrate this way of eating, Jimmy Mohamed also evokes a Japanese tradition. “There is another concept called: hara hachi bun me”, he explains, referring to Okinawa, a Japanese island known in particular for its high number of very elderly people.
The principle is simple: stop eating before having completely filled your stomach. In other words, leave the table when you feel full, but not heavy.
This 80% rule is therefore similar to the Swedish “Lagom”: in both cases, it is a question of seeking a balance rather than eating until you can no longer eat.
The idea is not new. Benjamin Franklin already wrote in 1733: “To lengthen your life, reduce your meals.”
How to apply this rule on a daily basis?
No need to disrupt all your meals. You can start gradually.
Serve yourself a slightly smaller portion than usual. Take the time to eat and put down your cutlery regularly between bites. Mid-meal, take a few seconds to ask yourself if you’re still hungry.
If this is no longer the case, you can simply stop. Leaving a few bites on your plate is not a failure, especially if you learn to better recognize your sensations.
This approach can also help you get out of the reflex which consists of automatically finishing your plate, even when hunger has disappeared.
Jimmy Mohamed’s message is ultimately quite simple: rather than constantly trying to eat less, it is above all a question of learning to eat just enough. And this starts with better listening to your body.