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June 1, 2007
Getting real with your diet
When you're trying to lose weight, take it easy on yourself.
DEENA LEVENSTEIN
Many people have struggled with dieting, finding that change often
feels impossible. It is an aggravating and upsetting story. But
why aren't we succeeding? I believe that, in order to solve a problem,
we must first understand it. And I am convinced that the regular
approaches to dieting and weight loss are ignoring important factors
in how we eat and, as a result, we are bound to fail.
The way we eat is affected by every facet of our being. This includes
the following factors:
Psychological/emotional. An emotional trigger, like a tragedy,
causes some people to eat more than usual.
Physical. Our hormones, genetics and food preferences affect
how we eat.
Spiritual. How we view ourselves, the world and ourselves
in the world impacts how we approach eating. For example, if we
believe our bodies are a holy gift from a higher being and we are
here to fulfil important roles, we will probably have a very different
relationship with food than if we believe that life is a setting
in which we should just try to have as good a time as possible.
Environmental. What's in your cupboard? When you cook healthy
dinners, are you supported by the people around you? Do the stores
you shop at display candy and chocolate at every turn?
Educational. The difficulty with education is that "facts"
change. Margarine, which was once thought of as the healthiest fat,
later was found to be extremely unhealthy. One must always carry
a healthy amount of skepticism when learning about nutrition.
We are complex beings and we need to be treated as such. Here are
some concepts that can steer you in the direction of healthier habits.
Have realistic goals. Goals like, "Lose 10 pounds by..."
are not realistic, no matter how small the amount, because you can
never know how quickly you're going to lose weight. Goals like,
"Don't eat chocolate" are also almost never realistic.
A realistic goal would be: "I don't eat enough vegetables.
When I'm at the supermarket, I am going to see if any vegetables
(cooked, raw, frozen) appeal to me. I will then try to eat vegetables
at least once a day." Small changes matter and one of the big
problems with unrealistic goals is that it they hurt your self-esteem.
When you fail to follow through, you feel terrible for having "failed,"
when the failure was the goal chosen.
Don't rush. This is a rule we fight against, usually for
years, or even our whole lives. If we don't work within the natural
time frame of a process, then we will not succeed. Ironically, at
best, we will delay reaching the goal. At worst, we will injure
ourselves emotionally and physically. A deep sense of failure results
from fighting time. Nothing will happen before its time.
Eat mindfully. In her book Eating Mindfully, psychologist
Susan Albers notes, "The goal of mindfulness is to participate
in the present moment in a state of complete awareness of your behaviors,
bodily sensations and experience." Try to become aware while
you eat. Chew. Eat slowly, sitting down. Use all your senses. Ask
yourself if you are enjoying the food. Ask this even about foods
that you are sure you like. Notice the feeling in your stomach as
it gets more and more full.
Try to eat food that is as healthy as possible. I believe
that more and more studies will point to the fact that weight loss
is not only a matter of calories in/calories out but also how and
what we eat. At the same time, it is probably detrimental to totally
deprive yourself of the foods you love.
Basically, you should try to eat fruits and vegetables however you
like them (try to work towards at least two fruit and three vegetables
a day), healthy fats (like cold-pressed oils, nuts, seeds, avocado),
whole grains and mostly lean proteins (legumes, chicken, some beef
and fish). Also, read ingredients so that you really know what you
are eating. A rule that usually works is, "The fewer ingredients,
the better."
Figure out the triggers that lead you to unhealthy eating habits.
Pay attention to how you eat and when: for example, recognize the
difference between social eating and eating alone.
Love yourself. Dieting is a harsh war and it's against yourself.
It seriously affects how you feel about yourself. But no matter
if we succeed or fail, we must be working on loving ourselves for
who we are. When you love yourself, you believe in yourself and
want the best for yourself. You are forgiving and respectful. All
of these feelings will empower you. Changing your eating habits
is a complicated task. By becoming fully aware of your experiences,
you will understand them and be able to work on them.
Deena Levenstein, trained as a dietician in Israel, is
now a freelance writer in Vancouver.
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