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Okay, so we are now a week and a half into the new year. How is that resolution to lose weight coming along? If you've run off the rails already, read on for some commonsense advice about getting those pounds off and keeping it that way.
1. Don't go on a diet: Going on a diet implies that you will be going off the diet at some point. Change your diet. A small linguistic point perhaps, but a huge difference in your mind. This has to be a commitment to change your lifestyle.
A four-week diet will not help you in any way. Sure, you'll lose a few pounds, but the second you go off it, the weight will all come back and chances are they'll bring a few friends along too. Yo-yo dieting is hard on your body and probably just as bad for you as carrying those extra pounds. And that doesn't even begin to address how depressing it is to gain it all back.
2. Set goals: Set yourself a long-term goal and a short-term goal. If you want to lose 25 pounds overall, then set your self monthly goals of 5 pounds so it doesn't seem so daunting. 3. Be realistic: Are you frustrated that you didn't lose 5 pounds since New Year's Day? A realistic goal of weight loss is 1 pound a week. Yup, that's all. Conversely, if you did lose 5 pounds in that time, chances are you starved yourself and are now irritable, depressed, and constantly obsessing about foods you aren't "allowed" to eat.
You'll probably binge eat this weekend because you feel deprived. So back to the long-term goal setting. It will probably take you close to a year to lose 25 pounds, recognizing that your body may hit the occasional plateau where you don't lose anything for a while.
4. Stick to it: Don't beat yourself up if you have a slip. Everybody does. Just relax and start again. Don't be obsessive, it doesn't help. Weigh yourself once a week at the same time to keep yourself in line.
5. Keep a food diary: This is a simple and very effective tool. Write down everything you put in your mouth, including drinks and note the time you had it. You must be honest with yourself or it won't work. At the end of the week read it over and see what you had, when you had it and where you could improve. Maybe you didn't need that piece of chocolate cake at 10 p.m. in the evening. Maybe you didn't include enough vegetables in your meals. Alter your behavior accordingly.
6. Change begins in the grocery store:. You can't eat junk food if you don't buy it. As Michael Pollan (author of The Omnivore's Dilemma and In Defense of Food) suggests, shop on the perimeters of the grocery store. That is where the fresh food is, such as fruit and vegetables, meat, and dairy.
As you move further into the store, you encounter processed foods, cookies, and so on. You will find that stores generally place soft drinks and snack foods in the same aisle. Don't go there.
7. Know your enemy: Once again, be honest with yourself and really identify what your weakness is. There are plenty of possibilities: A big sweet tooth, binge eating, lack of exercise, or simply eating too much. Once you know your pitfalls you can work to avoid them.
8. Control your portions: This is perhaps the simplest and most effective way of losing weight. We just eat too much. Use a smaller plate and fill it with two thirds vegetables and one third protein. You don't need a 10-ounce steak when 3 ounces of meat is all you require. Eat more slowly so your stomach and brain are in sync. Take as much as you need the first time and don't have second helpings. Ever.
9. Eat at a table: Sit down and eat your food at a table, snacks included. Pay attention to your food and the fact that you are eating. If you are eating in front of the television, in your car, or at your desk, chances are you are just stuffing your face.
Eat with your family as much as possible. Studies have shown that girls who eat with their families five times are week are much less likely to develop eating disorders.
10. Cook your own food: Prepared foods taste good to people because they are loaded with salt and fat. They are also loaded with chemicals and all kinds of crap that you don't need in your body. If you cook your own food, you have control over what you and your family are eating.
11. Enlist the help of your family and friends: Let everyone know that you are trying to lose weight. If your friends want you to go out for dinner, ask them to choose a restaurant where you can get healthy menu items, rather than burgers and fries. If you have dinner with your extended family, don't let them bully you into eating something you don't want.
My mother-in-law makes appetizers, a soup course, the main meal, and dessert; it bugs her when I decline things and I get the "But I made it for you!" argument. Well, she can make it, but she can't make me eat it. Perhaps there is a generational thing happening here, because my mother thinks I'm a nutbar for what I eat. Lentils? Chickpeas? She always says, "Better you than me." Both my mother and mother-in-law are totally flummoxed by the prospect of cooking for my vegetarian son-and they have about 130 years of cooking experience between them.
12. Eat breakfast: Don't kid yourself into thinking that skipping breakfast will create a slimmer you. By mid-morning, you'll be ready to gnaw on your arm and then you'll rush to eat something inappropriate. This is what I had for breakfast today: One slice of toast (carbohydrates), 2 ounces of cottage cheese (protein), 2 ounces of fruit yogurt (calcium and fruit) and 3 ounces of milk (calcium). It is 11a.m. as I type this, and I'm not even remotely hungry.
13. Go ahead and snack: If you are hungry mid-morning or mid-afternoon, by all means have a snack. Just be careful what you snack on. Cookies, muffins, chips, and soda pop are not good choices. If you crave something sweet, have 3 ounces of yogurt. If you crave protein, have a handful (and only a handful) of some nuts or pumpkin seeds. Yes, nuts have a lot of calories, but they also have a nutritional value, unlike chips.
Be organized and make yourself a dip or some hummus, and have some carrot sticks in dip. Your grocery shopping isn't done until vegetables you can snack on are cleaned and cut. That way you can reach for the healthy alternative, instead of the quick, fattening one.
Are you cruising the fridge because you are hungry, or because you are bored, or because you are avoiding some other activity? Before you put that food item in your mouth, ask yourself, "Do I really want this?" If the answer is yes, eat it. If the answer is no, put it back and eat it when you are hungry.
14. Eat anything you want: Yes, I really said that. One of the hardest things about changing your lifestyle is thinking that you can never eat a piece of chocolate cake again in your life. Who wants to live like that? If you have a huge craving for potato chips, then have 10 of them. Eat them slowly and savour them. Then don't have any tomorrow. You'll be happier because you got to have the object of your desire, but you'll be sensible enough to know that this is a treat, not an every day item.
15. Exercise, exercise, exercise: When people say they don't have time to exercise I think, "You don't have time to be healthy?"
I heard Michael Pollan say in a radio interview this week that "we find the time to check our e=mails for a few hours a day. Where did that time come from? There are still only 24 hours in a day." This is often an issue of time management. Choose a time that works for you, and then make sure you do it. I exercise at the YMCA at 6:30 a.m. in the morning. That way, my body work is done before breakfast, and I don't have to think about it again.
You don't have to go to a gym to get exercise. Go for a walk after dinner, take the stairs instead of the elevator, take a walk on your coffee break rather than heading to the cafeteria, walk to the store instead of driving, or exercise at home.
So there are 15 points to encourage you in your goals. I won't pretend that this is an easy thing to do. But remember, for every pound you keep off the better it is for your heart, for your blood pressure, and your wellbeing. Good luck.
Difficulty level: Moderate to advanced
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