Starting Again

Weight loss seems to be one of those things I was always starting again until I wasn’t. For most of my adult life I was always on a diet, just finished a diet or starting again.

Losing Stubborn Pounds

This all changed when I read The Checklist Diet by Rebecca Clark two years ago. Suddenly I was dropping off pounds I hadn’t been able to budge for several years. I was afraid I’d hit that over 40 group who just couldn’t lose weight, but when I followed two simple, yet incredibly hard steps the weight fell off—eat when I’m hungry and stop when I’m full.

In the past two years, I’ve had a mental shift, too. I’m no long going on a diet, finishing a diet or starting over. How I eat now, is how I will always eat. This is not a diet, it’s a lifestyle change that includes exercise.

Motivation

I’ve discovered finding motivation to make a lifestyle change can be challenging. Since it’s a new year, I’ll bet a lot of you are starting the search—again.

Diane Carbonell, author of the 150 Pounds Gone Forever recently blogged about this, and she offered some helpful suggestions.

Diane suggests you ask yourself if you really want to lose weight.

Two years ago I was desperate to lose weight. I really, really wanted that weight gone, and I think I needed that motivation, that commitment, in order to be successful.

Diane also suggested to stop thinking about losing weight and just do it. But you have to take steps to lose weight, she said.

Spicy black bean soup

I needed direction, and I found it in the Checklist Diet.

Unfortunately there is no simple way to lose weight. All I know for sure is, diets don’t work for me. I was in a constant cycle of eat what the diet told me to eat and never eat anything I want to eat. All that happened was, I’d lose the weight, then eventually gain it back.

Three Bite Rule

Now, I eat healthy 85 to 90 percent of the time, but I also eat the other foods I love. The key for me has been to eat when I’m hungry, to eat those less nutritious foods when I really, really want them, and to stop when I’m full. I’ve found Rebecca’s three bite rule particularly helpful, especially when I’m eating desserts.

Rebecca says, “Next time you have the craving for something amazing and sinful (like cheesecake), take the first bite and savor the deliciousness. Eat it slowly. By the fourth bite the taste has diminished.”

This really works, and I found a twofold benefit. I ate something I loved, and I savored the texture, the taste, the experience it gave my taste buds, and I only needed those four bites for satisfaction!

 Starting Again

Are you starting again? I’m here for you. Just tell me what you need, and I’ll be your cheerleader.

Watson Falls, Oregon

 

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