More tips to help you reach your goal:
- This tip for successful weight loss may be the most important yet. Eat with intention. Eileen, my favorite Weight Watchers leader, calls it “mindful eating.” Regardless of the label, if you’re not paying attention to your food, you’ll consume way more calories than you need. Pay attention to how each bite tastes. Chew well. Wait between bites to anticipate the next. Gauge how you feel after several bites. Are you satisfied or are you still hungry? Eat accordingly.
- Make a few important rules for yourself and stick to them. For example, if you eat junk food in your car, make the car off-limits. If you eat like a zombie in front of the television, make a rule to eat only at the table. I find that I’m pretty successful when I make a few rules for myself, but only if I have end dates. For example, several times a year, I’ll give up sweets or my beloved diet sodas for a month or two. Having that end date gives me something to shoot for that is doable.
- Cut out what I call recreational eating. There are plenty more tips to help with this, but it is the eating that we do between meals, just because we feel like it. For example, years ago at my heaviest weight, I used to eat a large bag of M & Ms while reading a good book. Now, I reach for popcorn, but either way, I’m eating when I’m not hungry, which is “recreational” and unnecessary.
- Pay attention to how your “skinny” friends eat. You’ll discover your own tips by studying their habits. Watch them at restaurants and social gatherings. My friend, Marian, is petite and fit but she can sock away as much food as I do at any meal. The biggest difference between us though (besides her intensive exercise routine) is that she only eats that way on special occasions. On a daily basis, she makes healthy choices and eats amounts that are satisfying instead of stuffing herself silly.
- Try to determine what causes you to overeat. This isn’t as easy as it sounds. I still haven’t figured it out but I do try to pay attention to my mood when I’m anxious to pig out. Try to substitute other activities besides eating. Take a walk, listen to some good music, meditate, call a friend, or go shopping. Hey, you might be substituting one addiction for another, but at least burning calories!
- Motivate yourself by focusing on weight loss quotes for inspiration. These inspirational quotes can provide that extra boost needed to keep your head in the right place throughout your journey. Write you favorite motivational weight loss quotes on Post-it notes and leave them all over your house, car, and office.
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit.”
(Aristotle)
