Below are some of the most helpful hints I offer to anyone who is trying to lose weight. I could say a lot more if writing a book, but this is the best of the best: WW is a personal journey: All ideas and suggestions (including those below) are just for your consideration. You must experiment and persist until you find what works for you and is sustainable over a lifetime. As your journey continues, what works and doesn't work changes. You must never stop looking for ideas that work. Do not eat at night: For me that means after 6 (or maybe 7 ) p.m. Essentially I fast each day for about 12 hours. This practice helps control my appetite by keeping my stomach small. At first this was a little challenging. However, now it is a normal part of my routine and I value it. There are exceptions of course, but maybe less than one or two times a month. This is the single most significant habit I believe you can cultivate. In addition to controlling weight, not eating at night is helpful in preventing or controlling stomach disorders. Make breakfast and/or lunch your main meals: Eating a fair breakfast (say up to 1/3 or even 1/2 of your daily points) will help satisfy your hunger for the rest of the day. I used to eat light breakfasts and lunches so I could save up for dinner. My problem was that I was too hungry by dinnertime and overate. Then I would eat every snack in sight during the evening. Now I eat very small portions for dinner, but do not feel hungry or deprived. I love ice cream (Dreyer's Light mostly) and will sometimes have some as dessert with lunch or as my afternoon snack. I don't usually have anything after dinner. I also found that if there is too much fat in my breakfast, I am hungrier during the day. A little protein in your breakfast is a good thing. Portion control: The word control is a misnomer for me. I have no self control. All I have are tricks and ways of motivating myself to quit eating. One thing I do is save leftovers. When dining out I almost always find the portions too large. I usually eat no more than half of what is on my plate. I take the rest home and eat it for lunch the next day or freeze it for later. I actually order sometimes based on what freezes well for later. (My family thinks I am anal about leftovers, but it works for me.) Avoid feeling deprived: I confess that I rarely pass up dessert at a party, banquet, wedding reception, or social function, and I generally eat the whole thing. If I did pass up these desserts I would feel deprived. Instead, I pass up appetizers, rolls, and seconds so I can enjoy my dessert. I believe it is important to not feel deprived. Naturally thin people eat anything they want...however, they don't eat when they are not hungry and they stop with they are satisfied. A couple of years ago I also quit eating so much fat-free stuff. It just was not satisfying me. Now I generally just have smaller portions of the real thing. Find out what activities you enjoy and make that your exercise: Face the fact that if you are over 45, you will not be very successful at weight control and good health if you do not exercise. Get over it and find out what will work for you. I love backpacking, hiking, dancing (West Coast Swing) and skiing. I can motivate myself to exercise if I am getting in shape for those activities. Ideally, find some activity you like and make that your exercise. Walking (40-60 minutes, 3 to 5 days a week) is probably the best overall exercise if you are looking for a place to start. Attend weekly WW meetings: I have a 15 year history with Weight Watchers that shows the following - When I regularly attended Weight Watcher meetings, I either lost weight or maintained. When I did not attend regularly, I gained weight. Because I do not have self-control, I need constant motivation to maintain good habits. It is just like going to church every Sunday. Do not weigh yourself every day: I lost weight twice as fast when I didn't look at the scale at home. When you get on the scale every day, your head plays games with you that even you cannot understand. Trust the experts on this one. (Note: Naturally thin people can weigh each day and control their weight. Compulsive eaters are not wired the same and need different feedback.) Realize who is putting food in your mouth: You are the only person putting food in your mouth. You have to be tenacious about not letting others influence what you eat. You may have to occasionally offend someone by not eating something they push at you. BE TOUGH. IT'S WORTH IT. Many people are just jealous and testing you anyway. It is actually quite rewarding to be successful when people thought you would fail. |