"When I first stopped dieting and started
to follow my internal cues for eating, I felt a lot better,
and a big bonus was that I lost a fair amount of weight.
I wasn't at my natural weight because of all the dieting
I had done as well as my generally unhealthy lifestyle.
But now, even though I'm eating mindfully and staying
active, my weight loss has stalled. I think I should be
at a lower weight. What am I doing wrong?"
Maybe nothing. Are you sure the weight you're at isn't
right for you? Not all of us have to be thin to be healthy.
Explore this by looking closely at whether you are truly living
a healthy lifestyle, getting regular physical activity and
in general taking care of yourself. Do you eat well –
not chaotically, but regular, well-balanced meals that leave
you feeling well? Are other health parameters good, such as
blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar? What does the rest
of your family look like? Are they all larger than the societal
ideal? Are you older? It's not realistic to expect to
weigh the same at 50 as you did at 20.
How to Lose Weight Healthfully
If your answer still leads you to believe you're carrying
extra pounds that aren't right for you, perhaps your
mindful eating and living routine could use a little tweaking.
Consider these questions.
- Do you really eat only when you are hungry most
of the time? Grazing – something that many
of us do because of our busy lifestyles -- commonly leads
to overeating, especially in people who aren't that
tuned in to their hunger cues.
- Try establishing a structure for your eating –
3 meals and a small snack or two a day.
- Then carefully listen to your internal cues. If you're
not sure whether you're really hungry, you probably
aren't. Stop eating when you feel like you've
had enough to go for a while without eating again. Eating
past that point regularly will make you less hungry
for subsequent meals, and again, if you're not
proficient in listening to your hunger cues, you may
end up overeating.
- If grazing isn't an issue, are there emotional
triggers that send you to food when you aren't
hungry?
- Make sure you're eating enough, too; sometimes
we try too hard, and set ourselves up for overeating
because we get too hungry.
- Could you benefit from journaling to get a clear
picture of your eating patterns?
- Are you eating well-balanced meals and snacks?
Include protein foods, starchy foods and vegetables &/or
fruits in most of your meals.
- Consider having foods from at least two of these
groups for snacks. Balance provides a mix of protein,
fat and carbohydrate that seems to ‘stick to our
ribs,' helping us feel more satisfied at meals
and be less hungry in between them.
- Additionally, when we don't eat what our bodies
need nutritionally, we run the risk of distorting our
internal cues by not giving our bodies the various nutrients
they need to operate efficiently.
- Are you active? For those of us who need
help hearing our internal cues, there's nothing better
than physical activity. It wakes our bodies up, helping
us be more in touch with what's going on inside. While
research suggests that exercise alone doesn't create
significant weight loss, it is invaluable in helping us
feel better and keep lost weight off.
- If you've been physically active for a while,
it might be time to bump up your routine. Our bodies
get conditioned, and it may mean we need greater intensity
or to invest more time to increase our fitness level.
- Again, consider journaling to get a clear picture
of your activity patterns. It's not unusual for
people to underestimate what they eat and overestimate
the amount of physical activity they get.
If you're struggling to listen to your internal cues,
you might benefit from work with a professional who is skilled
in helping you do this. Check in your area for registered
dietitians who are experienced in helping people stop dieting.
Or maybe you need some focused time away from your many responsibilities.
If so, consider a trip to Green Mountain at Fox Run. We've
been helping women learn to listen to their bodies for over
37 years.
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