You Can Do It!
Many people find it hard to accept the facts about weight control. Miracle diets and quick cures are not the answer; permanent lifestyle changes are. The best way to control weight is to consume fewer calories and exercise more.
You can't just change your habits for a week or two and go back to the way you were. You can successfully manage your weight, but it means a lifetime commitment and permanent changes in eating behavior. Weight takes time to gain, and it takes time to lose. But, once the weight is gone, it's well worth it. Now that you know how to "Win by Losing," get out there and beat the odds!
10 Tips to Reshape Behavior
- Pan-fry or saute foods with a non-stick spray or low-calorie butter substitute. Bake or broil instead of frying.
- Eat high-fiber foods, such as a bran muffin instead of the morning donut.
- Use sugar substitutes when sweetening foods and beverages.
- Order from the light menus now offered at many restaurants, or purchase low-calorie or reduced-fat products at the grocery store.
- Try a meal plan using "exchange lists" based on foods grouped together according to similar food values. Most exchange lists include several "free" foods: those lower than 20 calories per serving, such as many low-calorie, sugar-free foods and beverages.
- Never skip meals. Eat three to six times a day in smaller portions to keep from getting hungry.
- Use a smaller plate at mealtime to satisfy your psychological need to see a full plate.
- Eat and chew slowly. Learn to stop eating before you feel full. (It takes 20 minutes for the stomach to tell the brain that it is full!)
- Weigh yourself on a regular schedule, but don’t become a slave to your scale.
- Reward yourself with pleasures other than food--buy some new clothes, get a different hair style, see a movie, visit a friend, etc.
Also see ...
• Dieting Dilemmas: Which diets really work
Contributors Gail Becker, R.D., is recognized for communications expertise on diet, nutrition and fitness. She is president of Gail Becker Associates in Great Neck, New York.
John P. Foreyt, Ph.D., is a leading authority on obesity, dieting and behavior. He is director of the Nutrition Research Clinic and Professor, Department of Medicine, at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.