Vegetables are the perfect diet food.  

Weight loss and weight gain are directly related to the pattern of how and what you eat.  If you set a pattern and repeat it each time you eat, you will make it a habit or a part of your routine.  Once it is a part of your routine, you will repeat every meal.  

Weight Loss Tip 53 – Eat Veggies First

Fruits and Vegetables

My normal eating pattern is to save the meat for last.  It is the part I like the most, so I save it to savor at the end.  It might not be the best pattern, but I usually at the carbs first or second and the veggies in the middle.  

So why eat veggies first?  Vegetables are a low calorie, high nutrient, high fiber food.  They are the perfect weight loss food.  The best part about vegetables is they are very filling.  If you eat these first, hopefully, you will feel full before you end your meal.  Also, carbohydrate intake creates an insulin spike and thus results in storing sugars from carbohydrates as fat.  I am not advocating a low-carb diet.  Many people have tried low-carb diets.  Instead of going low-carb, consider just eating your vegetables first.  This little pattern change will reduce the insulin spike by slowing digestion.  

The order in which you eat your food matters.  What i am recommending is that you eat your food in this order: Vegetables, Fruit, Protein, and Carbohydrates.  This order will reduce the insulin spikes.  You may ask why is the protein before carbohydrates?  This is also slowly digested and it will help slow the absorption of the sugars.  Protein helps promote satiety better than carbohydrates.  Most important about carbohydrates is to watch your portion sizes.  

Research:  One study looked at just this topic[1].  Eleven subjects were given a meal and their blood sugar was check after the meal.  One week, they were told to eat the carbohydrates first and the next they were told to eat their veggies first.  When they ate their vegetables first, their blood sugar was reduced by nearly 30%.  

The bottom line: The order in which you eat your food matters.  Eat your veggies first!