How to Avoid the Misery of Dieting?
An excellent question, that immediately makes me think the best way to avoid the misery of dieting is to of course, NOT diet! This is not the answer most want to hear though. They want to have an easier way to diet. To not feel they are starving, to eat tasty food, to not have to battle cravings. They may also want to be able to enjoy social functions where food is a part of the equation, without having to do without sampling all fancy or down home dishes proffered. Still they want to be able to lose weight and usually quickly, so they can fit into those “dream” clothes and in the back of their minds return to old eating habits. In other words they want it all.
Diets are big on restrictions, you can only eat certain amounts of certain foods at specified times. If you weren’t obsessing on food prior to the diet, you will be by the time you are done. I have come to believe that when we make something taboo, we only make it more desirable. Whether it’s a new pair of shoes, or a tool, an item of food or Pornography, as soon as we can’t have something we want it even more.
So after you decide NOT to diet, do away with all the taboos and eat whatever it is that you wish to eat, you will be required to put some thought into this. In my own process I failed to get a baseline and I now wish I had, so track or write down what you are eating. Don’t worry about calories or carbohydrates, just note what you are eating and when you eat. Now wouldn’t you like to eat a bit healthier? Avoid some of the added fats and sugars that you are eating that do you absolutely no good? Only adding to your weight and possible health problems. Start to think about what you are eating. Yes, you will have to think in this process, think a whole lot. Most of us eat mindlessly, on the run, not tasting or even enjoying what we stuff into our mouths.
Educate yourself by reading labels, you will be surprised by the variances in the fat and sugar content of many of your food choices. Compare brands and you will be shocked at how much the same item can differ. Low fat does not mean sugar free, and sugar free does not equal low fat. It is best to avoid processed foods, whenever you can, because of all the additives, although most of us are not going to be able to go into a totally fresh and organic way of eating, over night, still we can make smarter choices. Just by making smarter choices in the processed foods that you eat you can cut all kinds of calories. Start with small steps, slowly add in fresher foods, that are raw and natural.
Think about what you really want to eat. Even at a fast food establishment you can make smarter choices that are healthier for you and don’t taste bland or nasty. Do you really want that deep fried burrito or would a couple of taco’s be just as good? Look at the menu and give it some thought. You may have just gotten into the habit of ordering the same thing repeatedly, you have many more options and some would be much tastier and healthier for you.
Several things will happen, you will be getting less fat and sugar which means fewer calories, and you will discover you don’t miss them, you feel better, you are still eating what you want to and slowly you will lose weight. You are of course totally in control, so the healthier your choices become, the more weight you will lose. You are not dieting, you are learning to eat healthier, one meal at a time and the small changes do add up and become easier to make as you practice eating foods with less fat and sugar.
As you clean your palate of foods infused with fat and sugar, you will find the actual flavor of the food you are eating. When you revisit some of your old favorites you may find yourself acutely aware of the flavor of grease and it isn’t pleasant, not compared to the real flavor of foods. Think about it. Would you sit down and eat a bowl of Crisco with sugar sprinkled or whipped into it? Doesn’t sound too appealing does it? Unfortunately that is the basis of many of our processed foods, fat and sugar and we don’t need them. They add hundreds of unnecessary calories to our meals. By cutting or reducing them, you can lose weight without starving or dieting in typical fashion.
Any time you can prepare a meal from scratch, you can eliminate chemical additives, fats and sugars. Many recipes can be tweaked or made healthier. Without changing the flavor or in some cases actually improving flavor. If you are into cooking, experiment with seasonings and learn which ones you like and add the most flavor to your dishes.
The more processed a food is the easier it is for our bodies to convert it into the sugars our body uses as fuel, so all calories are not equal, the fresher, more raw a food is, the harder the body will have to work to break it down into usable fuel. So by changing the types of food you eat, you can make your body work harder to convert it, which burns more calories.
Small simple changes can add up to quite a few calories and the fewer calories you take in the more weight you will lose. Everyone’s tastes and food choices differ, so your choices may be different than mine. Even among the processed foods you can make healthier choices, baked chips or pretzels instead of fried. Instead of melting cheddar or jack cheese over your vegetables try sprinkling parmesan or Romano. Use applesauce (no sugar added) in your baking instead of oil.
Then you can begin to look at your other habits that might interfere with weight loss, like skipping meals and starving all day, eating most or all of your food at night. Identify those bad habits and work on changing those that are easiest for you to modify. You do not have to change them all at once, in fact, too much change will probably derail your efforts, make slow and gradual changes that you can live with.
Next you will want to look at your level of activity. Regardless of size, we all need exercise and it doesn’t have to be formal. You only need to move more. By cleaning the fats and sugars out of your diet you will find you feel better, more energized, so this will be easier to do, as long as you make it fun. Take you children or grandchildren to the park and play with them, swing on the swings, toss a ball, or take a short walk ( building on this), go bowling, dance, or revisit some sport you enjoyed as a child. Your physical strength and stamina will increase as you go and the more active you are, the more calories you will burn.
Making these small changes won’t result in rapid weight loss but then you didn’t gain it overnight and you really would like to keep it off, wouldn’t you? You won’t be starving, you will still be eating the foods you like most and enjoying them more. By being more aware and making conscious choices you will be in control of what you are eating and you will slowly change your relationship with food.
I began this process of changing of how I ate, almost five years ago, refusing to diet in typical fashion, which had never worked for me. This has! I have lost over 320 pounds and become much fitter and healthier.
Diets are big on restrictions, you can only eat certain amounts of certain foods at specified times. If you weren’t obsessing on food prior to the diet, you will be by the time you are done. I have come to believe that when we make something taboo, we only make it more desirable. Whether it’s a new pair of shoes, or a tool, an item of food or Pornography, as soon as we can’t have something we want it even more.
So after you decide NOT to diet, do away with all the taboos and eat whatever it is that you wish to eat, you will be required to put some thought into this. In my own process I failed to get a baseline and I now wish I had, so track or write down what you are eating. Don’t worry about calories or carbohydrates, just note what you are eating and when you eat. Now wouldn’t you like to eat a bit healthier? Avoid some of the added fats and sugars that you are eating that do you absolutely no good? Only adding to your weight and possible health problems. Start to think about what you are eating. Yes, you will have to think in this process, think a whole lot. Most of us eat mindlessly, on the run, not tasting or even enjoying what we stuff into our mouths.
Educate yourself by reading labels, you will be surprised by the variances in the fat and sugar content of many of your food choices. Compare brands and you will be shocked at how much the same item can differ. Low fat does not mean sugar free, and sugar free does not equal low fat. It is best to avoid processed foods, whenever you can, because of all the additives, although most of us are not going to be able to go into a totally fresh and organic way of eating, over night, still we can make smarter choices. Just by making smarter choices in the processed foods that you eat you can cut all kinds of calories. Start with small steps, slowly add in fresher foods, that are raw and natural.
Think about what you really want to eat. Even at a fast food establishment you can make smarter choices that are healthier for you and don’t taste bland or nasty. Do you really want that deep fried burrito or would a couple of taco’s be just as good? Look at the menu and give it some thought. You may have just gotten into the habit of ordering the same thing repeatedly, you have many more options and some would be much tastier and healthier for you.
Several things will happen, you will be getting less fat and sugar which means fewer calories, and you will discover you don’t miss them, you feel better, you are still eating what you want to and slowly you will lose weight. You are of course totally in control, so the healthier your choices become, the more weight you will lose. You are not dieting, you are learning to eat healthier, one meal at a time and the small changes do add up and become easier to make as you practice eating foods with less fat and sugar.
As you clean your palate of foods infused with fat and sugar, you will find the actual flavor of the food you are eating. When you revisit some of your old favorites you may find yourself acutely aware of the flavor of grease and it isn’t pleasant, not compared to the real flavor of foods. Think about it. Would you sit down and eat a bowl of Crisco with sugar sprinkled or whipped into it? Doesn’t sound too appealing does it? Unfortunately that is the basis of many of our processed foods, fat and sugar and we don’t need them. They add hundreds of unnecessary calories to our meals. By cutting or reducing them, you can lose weight without starving or dieting in typical fashion.
Any time you can prepare a meal from scratch, you can eliminate chemical additives, fats and sugars. Many recipes can be tweaked or made healthier. Without changing the flavor or in some cases actually improving flavor. If you are into cooking, experiment with seasonings and learn which ones you like and add the most flavor to your dishes.
The more processed a food is the easier it is for our bodies to convert it into the sugars our body uses as fuel, so all calories are not equal, the fresher, more raw a food is, the harder the body will have to work to break it down into usable fuel. So by changing the types of food you eat, you can make your body work harder to convert it, which burns more calories.
Small simple changes can add up to quite a few calories and the fewer calories you take in the more weight you will lose. Everyone’s tastes and food choices differ, so your choices may be different than mine. Even among the processed foods you can make healthier choices, baked chips or pretzels instead of fried. Instead of melting cheddar or jack cheese over your vegetables try sprinkling parmesan or Romano. Use applesauce (no sugar added) in your baking instead of oil.
Then you can begin to look at your other habits that might interfere with weight loss, like skipping meals and starving all day, eating most or all of your food at night. Identify those bad habits and work on changing those that are easiest for you to modify. You do not have to change them all at once, in fact, too much change will probably derail your efforts, make slow and gradual changes that you can live with.
Next you will want to look at your level of activity. Regardless of size, we all need exercise and it doesn’t have to be formal. You only need to move more. By cleaning the fats and sugars out of your diet you will find you feel better, more energized, so this will be easier to do, as long as you make it fun. Take you children or grandchildren to the park and play with them, swing on the swings, toss a ball, or take a short walk ( building on this), go bowling, dance, or revisit some sport you enjoyed as a child. Your physical strength and stamina will increase as you go and the more active you are, the more calories you will burn.
Making these small changes won’t result in rapid weight loss but then you didn’t gain it overnight and you really would like to keep it off, wouldn’t you? You won’t be starving, you will still be eating the foods you like most and enjoying them more. By being more aware and making conscious choices you will be in control of what you are eating and you will slowly change your relationship with food.
I began this process of changing of how I ate, almost five years ago, refusing to diet in typical fashion, which had never worked for me. This has! I have lost over 320 pounds and become much fitter and healthier.
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