If you've quit yet another diet the first thing to know is that you are not alone.
Diets are designed to fail. In fact, 90 percent of all dieters gain the weight back within five years. So why are we spending 32 billion dollars a year on dieting products and services? We are given the false idea that using willpower and gathering more information about calories and fat grams is the answer to losing weight. In truth, it is not.
The reason diets don't work is that they are based on someone else's rules about the perfect diet. I say, write your own story. Everyone's body is different and needs a different amount and different types of food. The only way to correctly determine what's best for you is to listen to your body.
Stop counting calories. Instead, learn to eat according to your body's hunger signals, as explained in the steps below. Only then will you be eating the proper amount of food for your body to function. As a result your weight will gradually normalize. No deprivation required. No calorie counting. No fat gram calculations. Just you enjoying your food and living your life!
1. Learn your hunger signals
How do you know when you are hungry? How do you know when you are satisfied or full? Imagine a hunger meter, with 1 being when you are the least hungry, and 10 being when you are ravenous.
As much as possible, it is best to eat when you are at a hunger level of 3 or 4, and to stop eating at a 5 or 6. If you wait until you are at a level of 1 or 2 there will be a tendency to overeat and end up feeling uncomfortable at a 7 or 8. Do you see how the pendulum swings?
2. Check in before and after
Pay attention to how your body feels before and after eating. Do a check-in before eating: Are you truly, physically hungry? How much and what kind of food will make you feel the best right now?
After eating, ask yourself how you feel. If you feel nourished and energetic, remember the foods that allowed you to feel this way. If you feel sluggish or have digestive pains, then be present in your feelings and remember the kind of foods that made you feel this way. Next time you may not be so compelled to eat them.
3. Eat tasty and satisfying foods
If you eat foods you do not like, for example non-fat or low-calorie options, then you will not feel satisfied. When you are not satisfied you will eat more! When you eat foods that are satisfying and delicious, then you will feel deeply nourished and will need less to satisfy your hunger.
4. Feel pleasure and be present
Food is a wonderful source of pleasure, yet in our society we are often taught to feel guilty for eating. We have a mental list of 'good' and 'bad' foods and we tend to praise those who practice admirable self-control by staying on a diet of so-called good foods.
We have learned to rush through eating while sitting at our desks or in front of the television. These habits have taken the enjoyment out of eating. Because we don't enjoy our food enough, we tend to overeat.
Be present while you eat and taste every bite. If you take the time to revel in the pleasure of eating, then you will feel satisfied with a lesser amount of food. While you eat pay attention to the food you are eating by chewing each bite thoroughly and noticing the combination of subtle flavours and varying textures in your mouth.
5. Write your own story
Forget about what 'they' say. Instead, question authority. Every body is different, which makes it impossible to find one diet for all of us. When you read a diet book, know that it is representing one author's opinion (an author who doesn't know anything about your body, lifestyle and tastes).
Write your own story and know that you are the expert of your own body. Only you can determine the diet that is best for your health.
Stop dieting. Enjoy your food and get living!
****
Ashley McIntosh is a life coach and nutritionist who helps her clients make peace with food and their bodies so they can stop thinking about food all the time and start living their lives to the fullest.
http://www.getliving.ca/