2 More Steps for Permanent Weight Loss

Permanent Weight Loss: Dr. Barbara L Katz

Last month, I wrote about the first two steps to losing your excess weight permanently. Being clear about your reasons for losing weight and getting in touch with your hunger signals.

Here are two more steps that will help you to reach your weight loss goals without dieting:

“One or two uneaten bites are unlikely to affect your hunger.”

1.) Practice Stopping Eating When Satisfied – But Not Stuffed Or Uncomfortable:

If your parents were like mine, when you were young, you were forced to sit at the table until you finished all the food you were served. To this day, you may feel very uncomfortable leaving food on your plate. However, to successfully lose weight and keep it off, it is essential to stop eating when you’ve eaten enough to be satisfied. Even if you haven’t cleaned your plate.

To start, leave a bite or two of food on your plate after each meal. This becomes easier over time, and those bites add up. Put those uneaten bites in a freezer bag and look at the bag at the end of the week. You’ll see how those bites you did not eat can lead to significant weight loss. One or two uneaten bites are unlikely to affect your hunger. And the more often you leave some food, the easier this practice will become.

Enough Food To Be “Satisfied”:

Some other methods for eating a little less are taking slightly less food than usual from the serving bowl. Or taking some food and then putting a spoonful or two back into the dish or bowl. When you eat enough food to be “satisfied,” you won’t get hungry for at least three to four hours after eating a meal and won’t feel uncomfortable. It may take trial and error to figure out how much food your body needs because many of us have become used to overeating much of the time.

There are no restrictions on what foods you can eat. However, your body may function better if you limit your diet to healthier foods most of the time. I have noticed fewer joint aches when I eat less bread and flour-containing foods. I also get less hungry when I limit the flour and sugar in my diet. You may feel better and have more energy if you limit flour, sugar, and processed foods. Be a scientist and experiment!

“When you plan, your choices become intentional..”

2.) Plan Your Meals Whenever Possible:

When you plan, you use your prefrontal cortex – the part of your brain that makes decisions. When you do not plan, you’re more apt to eat something because it looks good and is right in front of you. Fatigue and alcohol may also tempt you to make poor choices or overeat.

When you plan, your choices become intentional. Such as whether you will drink alcohol and how much, whether you will have dessert, or eat any bread, pasta, or fried foods. If you won’t be eating at home and don’t have access to a menu or know what’s being served, you can at least decide the amounts you might eat and from what categories (such as how much protein, vegetables, bread, alcohol, dessert, etc.).

Your Doable Plan:

Make sure your plan is “doable.” Make sure your plan contains foods you like and amounts you’re likely to want to eat or drink.  If you usually enjoy two glasses of wine at parties, plan for them rather than making a plan you will not follow. If you love dessert, put dessert on your plan. Your plan does not need to be “perfect.” It just needs to be a plan you can follow.

Evaluate whether you followed your plan and, if not, how you will plan differently tomorrow. Become a scientist of your eating behaviors so that you become aware of your challenges and obstacles. Awareness is the first step to tackling those areas that have kept you from losing weight permanently in the past. During the upcoming months, I’ll go into more detail about making a doable plan that will make it easy for you to start losing your excess weight.                                                   

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