Weight-loss
– doing it right
I saw a friend recently that I
haven’t seen for a while and complimented her on how good she is looking now
that she has lost weight. She told me that she has finally found a
full-time job and is too busy to even think about food. My daughter is
breastfeeding and managing to lose even pre-pregnancy weight by burning extra
calories. Another friend started going to a dietitian, changed her eating
habits and is looking and feeling so good, she has stopped taking antidepressants.
Losing weight isn’t easy. While there
are a lucky few who are naturally skinny, there’s the most of us who have to
say no to all the delicious goodies
out there just waiting to be eaten.
It stands to reason that when
there’s a lot of food around, people are going to put on extra weight. Our
instinctive greediness in times of plenty, fast-foods and the lack of exercise
top the list, but there can be other reasons why you’re putting on weight in
spite of counting calories.
- Sleeplessness is often calmed with comfort food that becomes a habit.
- Stress releases extra cortisol and boosts one’s appetite – so we keep snacking.
- Depression gives some people the munchies and antidepressants contribute to weight-gain.
- Long-term steroids like cortisone and contraceptives add fat to the face, neck and tummy.
- As do medications for epilepsy, migraines, diabetes and hypertension.
- An under-active thyroid gland decreases metabolism.
- Menopausal women risk osteoporosis especially of the spine so they get shorter and extra body fat collects around the waist.
- People who stop smoking eat more to curb nicotine cravings.
What can you do about this?
Don’t stop taking prescribed
medications without first speaking to your doctor about alternative treatments.
Wear comfortable loose-fitting
clothes and learn to ‘think thin’. If you think, feel and behave thin, you will
want to stay that way and you’ll eat less.
Dish-up your food on a smaller
plate – less will look like more. Eat with a small fork so that each mouthful
is a dainty portion and you’re not shoveling food into your mouth.
Eat slowly.
Never go for seconds.
Keep busy and distracted so that you
don’t think about food. Ignore food magazines and skip the cooking channels.
Take up a hobby instead.
Now for some lifestyle changes:
- Eat brunch when you’re hungry. Keep it simple and nutritious e.g. a peanut-butter/avocado pear sandwich on brown/whole-wheat bread.
- Have an afternoon snack when you’re hungry – fruit, yogurt or vegetable sticks.
- Make sure your supper plate is colourful with something white (carbohydrate), brown (meat, chicken, fish) but mostly green, yellow or red vegetables. Grill don’t fry. Have fruit for dessert.
- Instead of watching TV, walk around the apartment block/townhouse complex or the park for at least 40 minutes every day. Take the kids with you.
- Learn to drink your tea and coffee without sugar. Ban soda’s and fruit juice.
- Boost your self-confidence. Change your hairstyle. Wear outrageous combinations.
- Weight yourself only after 6 weeks. Then reward yourself with something new – even if it’s only a scarf.
Health benefits:
Being the right weight for your
height decreases the risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, high blood
pressure, sleep apnoea, kidney problems, period hassles and fertility issues.
Practical benefits:
You won’t get breathless climbing
the stairs or feel embarrassed in small confined spaces. You will be able to
get in and out of the car easily, ride a bicycle again and run to catch the
bus.
Emotional benefits:
You won’t make an excuse the next
time there’s a family function, a school reunion or a church fête.
Your confidence levels will soar when people start complimenting you and you
will start to love yourself again. You will also enjoy going sales and shopping
for new clothes. You will start to live again!
