I am not here to sell you a new fad diet.
I'm simply sharing what worked in my struggles with weight loss.

Step 1A - Changing your eating pattern

I'm sure you've already heard, "Never starve yourself", it won't help you to lose weight.  To extend on this theory, the worst thing that you can ever do is to stuff yourself.  Stuffing yourself is a double edged sword.  Not only are you taking in more calories than you will likely burn off in the near term, but stuffing your belly has a side effect of increasing your appetite.  Think of it as actually stretching your stomach.  This can cause you to overeat more regularly, thus you'll have a surplus of unburned calories for the days to come.  This is the greater risk of stuffing yourself.

One suggestion is to do a trade off, and say to yourself... I will never let myself be hungry, but in return I will never stuff myself...  Some reasons why this will help...

If you leave yourself get really hungry, when you do eat, it seems so desirable that you tend to overindulge.  Also your body may alter it's metabolism to store more calories (into fat), for the next time you run a stretch with no food.

With this suggested eating pattern, you overall hunger level will decline, and you overall energy level will increase.  Remember stuffing yourself causes you to not be able move afterwards, and starving yourself leads to lower blood sugar levels and feelings of weakness.

Under this "eat whenever I am hungry" theory, if you are waiting for supper but feel hungry, then a little snack or appetizer is just fine (try to select healthy ones).  A little snack or appetizer an hour before the meal, will allow you to eat a more reasonable size meal, resisting the need for seconds or thirds.  (I say an hour before, because it gives time for the food to reach your stomach and reduce your feeling of hunger somewhat).

You will change your overall eating goal from "filling yourself" to "eliminating your hunger". You will eat until you are no longer hungry, instead of eating until you are full.  Don't worry if you end up eating 4 or 5 smaller meals per day, instead of 3 larger ones.  After using this method for a short while, your hunger will actually decrease, like your stomach has actually shrunk (in comparison to the stretching that occurs when you stuff yourself).  The result will be that your overall daily calorie intake is lower, and your energy level higher.

You will actually feel better about yourself this way, it will seem like an easy way to lose weight.  You will lose that guilty feeling that you have after overindulging.

If your never really really hungry, it will be easier to fight off the junk food when temptation happens your way.

Step 1B - Eating better foods

The benefits received from step 1A will be greater if your appetizers and snacks are healthy ones.  Go for fruits and veggies, and try to avoid junk food.  Or at least slowly decrease your intake of the junk food to be able to choose healthier snacks on a regular basis. Each time that you avoid junk food you are choosing a healthier life style for your self as well as your family.   One good example is replacing potato chips with baked pretzels.

If you take a potato chip and light it on fire, you see how packed in grease they are.  It will burn like a grease fire for a few minutes, and the chip will actually be visibly soaked in the grease that has liquefied with the heat.  Healthier choices will not only be good for the arteries, but will really make the weight loss easier.

Step 1C - Late night eating

If you are hungry late at night, try this.... Eat enough to get you by your hunger until you go to bed.  Do this in combination with step 1D

Step 1D - East slowly

Consider that it takes time for your food to travel through your digestive area, and to signal the brain that it is no longer in a foodless state.  So the brain doesn't yet feel fulfilled.  If you pack down 4 slices of pizza before the brain gets the message from your gut, your brain will never know that 3 slices would have fulfilled you just fine.  To extend on this, if you feel like seconds... why not say to yourself... I'm going to wait ten minutes, and then see if I am still hungry.

Step 1E - Avoid eating "just because it is meal time"

For example, if you have a busy day and you don't have lunch until 2:00PM, you're likely not in a state of hunger at 5:00 - so why have supper then.  Around 6:30 or 7 you'll feel some hunger coming on... Eat enough to satisfy you until bed-time.  Eat when you are hungry, and only when you are hungry.  This helps greatly.

If you follow the above steps you will start to notice a reduction in hunger in a matter of weeks.  One bonus to this strategy is you will notice a difference in your appetite, and it will make you feel great.  When you see some results from your efforts, you will be motivated to continue.  This is quite contrary to what many people experience when trying to lose weight.  They work hard at something, then look in the mirror, or at the scale - seeing no change they lose motivation.  I'm not saying you'll see a change in the mirror after a week or two, but you will see a change in your appetite very quickly.

Changing your eating pattern is the first step of weight loss.  I'll get around to typing up some more steps soon.  Try this for a week or two, then email me and let me know if you notice a change!  Please email, I'd love to know that it's working for you, and it will motivate me to complete more articles.  Thanks!

 

 

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