Listen to Your Body
Mon, 11 May 2009 12:35:19 GMT
Your body is your most powerful ally when losing weight, but do you always really listen to it? By not paying full attention, you gradually desensitise yourself to the signals it sends you - resulting in eating more and over time, putting on weight.
You can't always help eating habits - how often do you end up grabbing a sandwich and eating it at your desk at work, or only having a few minutes to eat your evening meal before having to pick up the kids? However, there are things you can do to 'tune in' to your hunger signals again.
The golden failsafe rule? ...Only eat when you are hungry. Ahhh, it doesn't sound like rocket science, but how can you tell when you are hungry? Or is it thirst?
If you want to eat something, grade the hunger on a scale of 1 to 5. If you are at a 4 or 5, then eat. Otherwise, have a glass of water and try re-grading after five minutes. This will weed out any boredom eating and also help you distinguish between 'hunger' and 'thirst' signals which can be very similar. If you don't get to a 4 or 5, find another activity to take your mind off food!
When you do eat, rather than tucking into the traditional 3 meals a day, why not break it down into three smaller meals and two snacks (e.g. an apple with a handful of mixed nuts)? Eating more regularly means you are more likely to only eat what you need rather than what's there. Try aiming for fruit, vegetables, pulses, rice and pasta, which are 'slow release energy' foods, and will make you feel fuller for longer, rather than 'quick release energy' foods such as crisps, sweets and 'quick fix' foods.
By making you feel fuller longer, your blood sugar levels fluctuate less, which means your insulin levels also stay more constant - more insulin in your blood leads to greater fat storage, which is not the best approach to weight management! Also by eating regularly, you are less likely to binge when you do eat as you are not 'starving' or 'ravenously hungry'. This means again, you are likely to eat fewer calories. The other message hidden in here is...ALWAYS eat breakfast!
Golden rule number two is...stop eating when you are full.
Again, this sounds easy enough - how many times have you had a Sunday roast with all the trimmings followed by dessert and then felt to tired and full to move? If you felt like that, you've eaten way more than enough!
There is a time-lag from starting to eat to feeling like you've had enough. If you wolf your food down without pausing, you will eat a lot more than if you put your fork down between mouthfuls and actually taste your food. This is because the hunger signal has not been able to kick in - next time you eat, try eating at a much slower rate, and you may surprise yourself that you don't want the same amount that you normally eat. Try putting your fork down between mouthfuls, chewing each mouthful a bit more (also better for your digestion!) and sipping water between mouthfuls.
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