To begin your diet program, use a journal to record everything you eat every day for two weeks.
By Katrina Bertol
Naturally Savvy
There are diet fads, diet pills, products, and strict protocols that will help you lose weight quickly — and then gain it back twice as fast. We develop relationships with food over the course of our lives, and many turn into addictions and routines. What we eat, when we eat, how much we eat, how we eat and why we eat are really the magical missing pieces of the weight-loss puzzle. If we’re not aware of these questions and answers, then no diet, weight loss routine, or supplement will ever work.
TIPS TO BOOST YOUR SUCCESS
1. Set and Record a Realistic Goal
Whether you want to reduce bloating, lose five pounds, 10 pounds, or much more, you first need to set a goal and write it down. Without concrete goals, it’s difficult to succeed. If you want to lose five pounds, write it down. When do you want to lose this weight by? Jot that down, as well. Be realistic. One pound of fat is 3,500 calories, which means if you cut 500 calories each day (by exercising and watching your portion sizes), you can easily lose 1 pound per week.
2. Buy Yourself A Journal
Buy a small pocket-sized notebook that looks nice, so you’ll actually want to carry it around and write in it. Use this to record everything you eat every day for two weeks. I guarantee you’ll eat less and make better food choices. There’s something sobering about seeing your daily food intake recorded on paper. You’ll think twice about how much and what you eat, so you can honestly record a healthy food day.
3. Stop Putting Limitations On Yourself
We all generate some absurd statements about what we can and cannot do, such as: “I’m not a runner,” “I need sugar and coffee to survive,” “My body just doesn’t want to change” and “I can’t, I’m not, I shouldn’t.” If you identify yourself with such limitations, you’ll maintain the same patterns and weight loss (or any personal growth) will be hard to achieve. Ask yourself what you’ve been avoiding and why, then challenge yourself to destroy those negative self-limitations.
4. Never Stuff Yourself
It’s interesting that over thousands of years, we’ve stuck with the idea of eating until we’re full. Studies show that eating until you are 80 percent full leads to lifelong weight control, better health status, more energy and can actually add years to your life.
5. Get Moving
Lift weights, join a sports team, try out different fitness classes, dance, get up from your desk and stretch those poor stiff muscles. Our bodies are meant to move, and not just from the car to the office with the occasional lap around the grocery store.
If you’re stuck with your present fitness routine (or are just completely unmotivated), hire a certified personal trainer to help get you started or attend a fitness class at a local gym. One of the easiest ways to drop a couple of pounds is to go for a brisk 20-minute walk before or after dinner to help digestion and to increase metabolism.
6. Control Portion Sizes
Our eyes are usually much hungrier than our stomachs. Try using a small plate instead of a regular dinner plate. When you have a large plate and put a small amount of food on it, your eyes and your brain tell you you’re getting ripped off. If you have a nice full small plate of food, your eyes will be satisfied, your brain at peace and you’ll keep those extra pounds off your waistline.
7. Eat Slowly and Calmly
If you eat on the run, while stressed out or upset, digestion will be compromised; gastric juices will not have time to be secreted properly and your intestines will be contracted, leading to indigestion. Digestion starts in the mouth with the salivary glands producing amylase to start the breakdown of food. The more you chew (try at least 20 chews per mouthful) the less work for your stomach and intestines. This translates into more energy to break down fat, not food particles. The slower you eat, the less you’ll eat in one sitting.
8. Snack Consciously
Don’t get me wrong, snacking is important when you are actually hungry and choose wholesome foods in the right portion sizes, and at the right times. But how many of us eat while we’re in the kitchen cooking? A little taste of this, a bite of that, a piece of cheese to “tide you over” and before you know it you have consumed an extra 400 calories before your actual meal. If you are hungry when preparing dinner, have a large glass of water and cut up an apple or veggies. Enjoy this small snack with awareness while sitting down at the table.
9. Think Twice Before Going Back For Seconds
Before you reach for the second serving, wait 10 minutes. Ask yourself, “Am I really still hungry, or do I just want to satisfy my taste buds?” It takes about 10 minutes for the receptors of the brain to realize that you are satisfied with what you’ve already consumed.
10. Don’t Eat Late At Night
Metabolism slows down in the evening hours and your body needs energy to detoxify and rejuvenate organ system function during sleep. Try to finish your last meal before 8 p.m. or at least three hours before bedtime. Eating before bed will cause energy to be spent on digestion and not on much-needed detoxification. And instead of using those calories for energy to move during the day, your body will store them as subcutaneous (surface) fat on your body.
Katrina Bertol is NaturallySavvy’s Whole Health expert. She is a Registered Holistic Nutritionist, Registered Nutritional Consultant Practitioner, Certified Personal Trainer, Pilates Instructor and Reiki Practitioner. NaturallySavvy.com is a website that educates people on the benefits of living a natural, organic and green lifestyle. For more information and to sign up for their newsletter, visit www.NaturallySavvy.com
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