There are probably as many different reasons that people are fat as there are people. Well, maybe I exaggerate a bit. But there are bad eating habits – which covers a lot of different ground – to hormonal confusions in the body. So, not every ‘diet’ is going to work for everyone. I don’t really like the word ‘diet’ anyway – I prefer the necessity of changing one’s lifestyle. If you go on a diet and lose weight then go off the diet, very likely you will go back to what you were doing before which was probably contributing to your excess weight. I’ve always felt that the goal should be a healthy lifestyle first and if you are doing that you’ll most likely be OK even if over a few pounds.
Here are some things that I do to stay healthy and keep my weight down.
Water: I drink quite a bit. I drink a glass or as much of a glass of water when I get up or as I awake. I always have a glass beside my bed. If I’m thirsty I drink water not soda or tea or anything else. Carry a refillable bottle with you wherever you go.
This one is one of the most important: I NEVER eat till I’m full. I always stop before then. If I’m having a salad, I’ll try and eat it before my main dish – it will help me eat less. I don’t eat bread with a meal. I don’t go more than 2-3 hours without eating. Otherwise I get too hungry and eat too much. If I eat 2-3 meals or dinners till I’m full then I start putting on weight. I think the reason for this is that there is a lag with the food getting to the stomach. If you stop before you are full then wait a few minutes, you will be full. If you don’t stop then your stomach will end up over full and stretch.
I rarely eat dessert. If I eat well I’m usually too full. If I want something sweet, it will be a very small piece.
Deep breathing. I started doing this when I was a teen. I don’t necessarily use the breathing every day but I think this helps with metabolism – not sure – but you can look up on the web exactly how …
At least some exercise regularly – I cycle or swim, walk or do yoga exercises.
Ration my sweets. If I’m having a glass of wine later, I won’t have the dessert.
I seem to do ok with potatoes but try and limit pasta. Probably because it is over-processed.
I never eat ‘fat-free’ food. I hadn’t eaten these types of foods for years and was reading Adele Davis some years ago and found something very interesting. She says in one of her books – probably “Let’s Get Well” – that if you were to take the fat out of foods people would crave carbohydrates. Makes so much sense to me – I see ‘fat free’ food that is loaded with sugar. Go figure!
Fresh vegetables at least 3-4 times a week.
And when I cook my food – I really try to not over-cook it - particularly vegetables.
I’ll try and eat plain yogurt with honey and flax seed (ground up) at least 3 times a week..
I lost quite a bit of weight once using the South Beach Diet – not very rigorously but it was keeping me away from pasta and being too heavy on the carbs.
Whatever you do, pay attention to what works. Do your own research and find out what is good for your body. If you listen to everyone else’s opinion on what to do and what is wrong then it is easy to blame them if whatever you try isn’t working.
Good Luck!
