Are you searching to find what you need to do to lose weight permanently?
I tell my clients that to lose weight permanently, they have to let go of all the dieting rules!
People think they need to count calories, weigh and measure all their food, or track it in a food app.
Yes, it is good to know what healthy portion sizes are, but that is all it is good for.
As for counting calories, it teaches you nothing other than; I have 100 calories to eat; I can eat the apple or the licorice. What do you think you will choose? I know for me when I was counting calories, I choose the licorice every time.
Or I would save up calories to use for the evening because that was when I needed them after my long stressful day at work. I ate because I had calories available and didn’t deal with the reason I needed those calories in the first place!
Also, eating by counting calories does not teach you about hunger and fullness.
Losing weight is not so much about the foods you are eating but more about the reason you choose to eat in the first place.
If you find it hard to let go of dieting rules, then start with this one diet rule; that you only eat for physical hunger!
I know for me when I decided I was going to lose 100 pounds for the last time, I thought I was eating because I was physically hungry, but wow, not the case.
I found out that 99% of the time;
I was eating to get away from my problems (I was feeling stressed, bored, lonely, sad, frustrated)
I was eating to get my money’s worth.
I was eating because it is not good to waste food.
I was eating because it was time to eat.
I was eating because I didn’t want to wreak my metabolism. This is a big one that many women use to justify their eating. If you are so worried about needing to eat because of your metabolism, then start thinking that carrying extra weight is wreaking your metabolism. Also, eating when your body does not require food confuses your body-it’s saying we don’t need the food, so I guess we have to store it as fat.
So what it really takes to lose weight is eating only when you are physically hungry. That is the only food rule that you need!
I teach women to start with the basics, having a realistic 24-hour plan that does not restrict or deprive you of the foods you enjoy.
When you write out and commit to following your realistic plan, that is how you build trust in yourself. When you can follow through on what you commit to eating and do that over and over again, that is how you gain momentum.
The best gift I gave myself is to stop dieting and teach myself how to start where I am right at that moment. To eat when I am hungry. Stop when I am satisfied. Stop judging and beating up on myself and learn from what was not working.
It is also about learning to level up my eating slowly. When I started, the foods I choose were not the greatest, but I never dreaded what I was going to eat as I did on the diets. I was able to stick to what I said I would eat, and from there, I looked forward to what else I could eat that is just a little better—working on eating just a little less of the licorice, ice cream or cookies. Or adding in a salad with my pizza.
When I gave up the all or nothing way of eating and started with where I was, I then slowly levelled up what I choose to eat.
I think the biggest challenge in the beginning for me was learning what real physical hunger and what fullness felt like. It was a challenge because my head and my stomach were disconnected for a very long time.
Nowadays, since I lost 100 pounds over ten years now, I can enjoy things like pizza, cake and wine without worrying whether I should or shouldn’t have it because nothing is off-limits anymore. I eat when I am hungry, and I stop when I am full. I promise you; you can do this too!
You are worth it!
Karen
P.S. Ready to lose the weight for the last time? Come learn a whole new approach to losing weight that is sustainable.
Come see if you are a good fit for my program where women learn how to become the person they have dreamed of who no longer has to go on another diet again because she lives at her natural weight and is no longer controlled by food.
Click here to apply for your weight loss strategy session with me and let’s get started.
