Worried about weight?
There’s a great saying that I like to remind people of at this time of year “It’s not what you do between Christmas and New Year - it’s what you do between New Year and Christmas!” So it’s important to keep a sense of perspective about the temptations on offer at this time of year.
Often diet plans are aimed at people who want to lose many stones or dress sizes, but what about those people who just want to contain the damage sustained around Christmas? If that’s you – you can follow these tips and really enjoy the festive season without letting fear of overeating spoil your fun.
Most excess calories are consumed unconsciously; this happens in a variety ways; by eating larger portion sizes than you need, by snacking and by eating foods you would not normally eat.
You have sensors all over your stomach that communicate with your brain telling it when your stomach is distending and getting “full”, but many of us ignore these signals and over eat. Just by slowing down and getting into the habit of “going inside” just for a second every minute or so to listen to or feel what your body is telling you, is all you need to do to stop overeating.
Your body has a variety of signals - some more powerful than others. For example, if you put your hand on a hot oven the signal to remove it is pretty fast, but the signals your stomach sends to your brain are much more subtle. You have to tune into them to become more aware and that can take a little time and practice. Eating quickly is the best way to override these signals, so by eating slowly, you can become more aware of when you have had enough. To help you do this put your knife and fork down in between every mouthful, or if you are holding finger food put it down in between bites and don’t pick it up again until you have chewed and swallowed what’s already in your mouth. By doing this you will automatically reduce the amount you eat by a third.
At this time of year there is often much more food on offer than usual, and as a result we eat snacks just because they are there not because we are hungry. We have all heard the jokes about “these calories don’t count” but of course they all do. When you eat honestly, slowly and with awareness of what you are eating, you will automatically eat less. Everything can be done in moderation, including moderation!
Life is all about consequence, everything you have ever chosen to do has had a consequence, you learnt to walk and as a consequence you became independent and could get around, you learned to speak and as a consequence you can communicate, you go to work to earn money and as a consequence you can pay your bills and buy food. Your brain likes “patterns” it is constantly looking for a match, to make sense of the information, but YOU are the controller so you get to make the final decisions on what you do.
There are some things like laws of physics e.g. the law of gravity “what goes up must come down”, that are the same for all of us with no exceptions. Another of these laws is the law of energy: if you put more energy (food) into your body than you take out (burn) then you will get fat. That's a consequence you cannot avoid, even at Christmas!
Understanding and accepting all of this helps you to eat with awareness and honesty. If you are prepared to put in extra effort at the gym or whatever your preferred method of exercise is, then go ahead and eat the extra calories and enjoy them! If not then you need to accept you are going to be fatter. If that’s not a consequence you want, then be more aware and eat in moderation.
A really important concept is to AVOID DIET FOODS at all costs. Often the savings in calories are negligible and if you don’t enjoy it you are much more likely to abandon your “diet” or regime. You can lose weight eating perfectly normal foods, as long as you only eat what you need. If you eat foods that are low on the glyemic index and avoid sugary refined foods which are absorbed too quickly and can actually stimulate hunger, you will stay fuller for longer. Losing weight should never involve eating tasteless foods that you don’t enjoy. The best and most effective technique for weight loss can be summed up in just 4 words “EAT LESS-MOVE MORE”. You can do this just as easily on really good food. Often diet foods have the fat removed and sugar added which means they are less likely to keep you satisfied for long and sugary foods can actually induce cravings.
Here are my top 5 tips for Christmas:
Stay conscious! Be aware of what you are eating
Moderate your moderation
Acknowledge the consequences
Slow down
Remember – alcohol has calories too so the same rules apply!
The key to permanent weight loss is to NOT diet, because a diet is something you “go on” so by default at some point you “come off” it. This means you go back at least in part to doing the things that made you fat in the first place! When you follow practical guidelines and learn new ways of thinking and change some key behaviours, you will lose weight at a steady rate, and if you have chosen to change those behaviours for good and don’t feel as though you are on a strict regime, these become your default setting and you stay slim.
Janet Thomson is the author of a number of best selling books including the ‘Weight Loss in Mind’ book & CD programme. She also runs regular ‘bootcamp’ seminars for weight loss around the UK.
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