by OneMoreBite | Jun 11, 2003 | Weight Loss Tips
The Dreaded Weight Loss Plateau
We’ve all been there – doing everything “right,” exercising (making an effort anyway), eating more fresh foods, and yet, nothing. No change. We anxiously weigh ourselves hoping for some result, but the needle won’t budge, or worse, it rises! You are on a weight loss plateau. That’s when most people just give up. What’s the use? This doesn’t work. Nothing works. I think I’ll try that new diet … or maybe skip breakfast … or?
Review Your Daily Habits
If your weight loss seems to have stalled, it might be time to reassess your daily habits. I promote the “non dieting” approach, which means you should eat what you really want to eat, when you really want to eat it. In other words, if you are hungry (key word: hungry), then you should eat something, but it doesn’t mean with wild abandon each and every time. You can eat until you’re stuffed but once you learn the real principals of non-dieting, you’ll rarely want to do so. If you give yourself permission to eat, you don’t have the same experience of deprivation and you’re behavior around food with change as well.
But, back to our stalled weight loss efforts. If you are no longer losing, and you still believe you have weight to lose (five, 10, 15 or more pounds), then here is my approach, and it may just work for you. Look closely at your eating habits. Here is an example based on my own life:
When I order at Dairy Queen (once a week habit, now perhaps four times a year), I still order a double-cheese burger with the works, and a family-pack fry. What is a family pack fry you ask? It’s a French fry order they think is big enough for the whole family, but I think is just right for me! My husband who always says he doesn’t want any French fries, then asked for some of mine (hey, I’m eating that!), now gets his own whether he asks for them or not cause I don’t like to share. I’m a bit of a French fry freak, I guess.
So now, I’ve come to the realization that maybe it’s time for me to let go of the belief that I must have a gigantic order of fries. Notice I used the word “maybe” in that last sentence. That tells me I’m not convinced, but I am willing to give it a try, so that is what I choose to work on. Since I just had a Daily Queen, it could be a month or two before I have a chance to see whether this works, but I will report when the time comes.
For now, here is my plan, and you can apply this to yourself by choosing one thing you eat, whether you eat it often doesn’t matter, but choose something you know you could perhaps either cut back on (times a week, quantity when you do have it), and make a small change. I’m not intending to quit eating French fries, but I am intending to become a more normal consumer and order a regular sized order.
I’m going to use EFT on my belief that I must have a huge order of french fries:
“Even though I think I have to have a family pack fry, I deeply and completely accept myself.”
Shortened phrase: Family pack fry”
“Even though I can’t imagine not having a family pack fry, I deeply and completely accept myself.”
Shortened phrase: “Must have family pack fry” – (said in a robotic voice with outstretched arms for fun)
“Even though I want to order the huge order of fries, I deeply and completely accept myself.”
Shortened phrase: “huge fries, love huge fries”
“Even though I always order the huge order of fries, I deeply and completely accept myself.”
Shortened phrase: “always get huge fries”
“Even though I’m the French fry queen, I deeply and completely accept myself.”
Shortened phrase: “French fry queen”
See how I play with the words? Have fun with it. I’m going to tap, today once an hour on this. Each time evaluating how strongly I believe I would order the family pack fry, if I were standing at the counter making my order. I’ll keep doing the tapping, until my belief is zero.
How is this helpful in a stalled weight loss? Easy, it is your habits that create your current size and shape. This is a habit I’ve kept for a long time, and this one small change, even though I don’t eat it often, will still add up to some weight off. It really works, and there is no pain, no trauma, no giving up my favorites.
by OneMoreBite | Jun 4, 2003 | Exercise, Weight Loss Tips
Q: Five weeks ago, I began an exercise program and so far I have not lost any weight or gained in muscle tone – which is my goal. Regardless, I intend to keep it up, knowing that the results I want will occur if I give it time.
A. That’s so true, yet here is what happens with the majority who begin an exercise program:
- They start out feeling excited, knowing it will be successful in the long run, if they stay with it. (They’ve read the books, they know this stuff works).
- They begin to feel and look better, although the scale shows no difference. (Results take awhile to build, they know this but it gets harder and harder to wait.)
- Their clothes begin to fit looser. People start to notice, asking “What are you doing?” (Things are starting to happen, albeit slowly.)
- They do “all the right things,” such as eating well and getting good rest. (Consistency, a good discipline.)
- Since they’ve been “so good” they decide to step on the scale. (Where’s the evidence? They’re getting impatient.)
- The scale shows a three pound weight gain and they throw their hands up in despair saying, “This doesn’t work!” (The scale doesn’t show us what is going on inside, it only weighs the total package.)
- They dismiss the real evidence (how they feel, how they look, how their clothes fit) and rely instead of the wisdom of the bathroom scale, known for wildly inaccurate results, but nevertheless trusted implicitly. They have likely gained some valuable muscle, active tissue that supports and sustains the body, and creates beautiful curves, but without the result they had in mind, they quit.
Your body is made up of fat, skin, bone, and muscle (not to mention water). When you exercise the goal is to increase muscle and decrease fat. A pound of muscle takes up much less space than a pound of fat, so regardless of what you see on the bathroom scale, if you have been exercising, you are building a better, healthier frame. Give your body a chance to display the results you seek. Instant results take time.
by OneMoreBite | May 28, 2003 | EFT Weight Loss, Hunger
Are You Hungry?
Here’s something I read yesterday that got my blood boiling. It’s supposedly diet advice, but I’d say it’s more of the same nonsense we’re fed in our daily “Celebrity Advice” diet.
“You eat when you’re hungry, and you can eat often,” Paula Zahn disclosed, saying she eats five or six small high-protein “meals” a day.” Here’s the stupid part: “On this plan, my energy levels are so stable … and I never feel hungry.”
Excuse me? First she says you eat when you’re hungry, and she eats five or six times a day. In the next instant she says, you’ll NEVER feel hungry. No wonder people are so afraid of hunger when celebrities and other so called “experts” claim you can eliminate the pesky hunger problem, just by following their diet.
Hunger is Healthy
For once and for all, hunger is a healthy aspect of daily life. Without hunger we would all whither and die. Have you ever truly lost your appetite? Not a lessened desire or “you’re not hungry but you could eat” hunger, but a true loss entirely? Without appetite the thought of food is repulsive; you not only don’t want to eat, you probably couldn’t eat, unless you were forced. That is the situation faced by those under extreme illness conditions and isn’t something I’d wish on anyone.
Since most diet plans are so restrictive, especially compared to what we normally eat, it’s no wonder we become fearful of our hunger pangs. (Please note the word is pangs, not pains). Case in point, The TWA Stewardess Diet which allows you half a grapefruit for breakfast. Talk about hungry!
Starting today, let’s eliminate the the notion that hunger is the enemy. One thing that helps enormously is to feed yourself well. Eat wholesome food more often – you’d be surprised how well it works!
EFT for Hunger, Fear, Loss of Control
Setup: “Even though I’m afraid of my hunger, I deeply and completely accept myself.”
“Even though my hunger is so great I’ll consume everything, I deeply and completely accept myself.”
“Even though I can’t control my hunger, I deeply and completely accept myself.”
Round 1: This hunger thing
Round 2: This remaining hunger thing
It only takes a minute, do as many rounds as are necessary to bring your SUD level to a 2 or lower.
What’s EFT? What’s a SUD level? Read One More Bite’s Intro to EFT for Weight Loss materials. It’s very easy to learn and even easier to use.
Some people stop using EFT because it seems too easy, or they are actually getting a good result but then something stops them from continuing. What do you think could be the problem? More issues perhaps? Exactly! When you find yourself thinking, “Oh, I don’t need to do this,” or “This is silly,” or “This is a waste of time, I’ll never…” that’s a perfect opportunity to use EFT on your limiting beliefs.
Do a round of EFT every time you catch yourself in a negative frame of mind and you’ll see the pounds slipping away.
Read about Infamous Hollywood Diets at Shape magazine. Great article!
by OneMoreBite | May 13, 2003 | Hunger
It’s 11:51 AM and so far today I’ve eaten…
… a huge bowl of granola cereal with a cup or more of non-fat milk at 7:15 AM. Around 10:00 I had a small banana, which didn’t seem to do a lot, so I added a medium apple about 10:20. Now, I’ve just finished a low-fat yogurt, and it’s not yet noon.
Some people haven’t eaten a thing yet today, but I’m feeling nicely satisfied (not hungry, or trying not to eat, or trying to wait to eat), just satisfied. Not stuffed, not empty, just satisfied. Later, in an hour or two I’ll get hungry again.
Don’t Fear Hunger Embrace It
It’s a sign you are healthy. One of the most harmful effects of serious illness is a lack of appetite, because when you are ill, you need more nutrients, not less. If you don’t get adequate nutrients, your ability to fight off illness is reduced, and you can become too weak.
If you seem to be constantly hungry, take a look at what you are eating, and also what you are craving. If you crave nothing but junk, i.e. candy, cookies, treat foods, then you could be hungry because you aren’t feeding yourself very well. If you eat a lot but don’t provide much in the way of nutrients, your body will still keep asking for food. It wants food, real food. Something with fiber, something for your digestive system to work with.
Junk food might fill you up for the moment, but it won’t fool your body, and your body will just ask for more food. That’s why you can eat a whole bag of chips and still be hungry, or you can eat a huge dinner and feel hungry less than an hour later. I’ve noticed this after eating at certain restaurants, despite eating more than enough, I’m hungry again soon after.
Try eating well for a day (or half a day, if it frightens you). Just eat usual foods, homemade, old fashioned foods, like fresh fruit, vegetables, salads, corn on the cob, or baked beans, it doesn’t matter, just eat real food for a day, and see how satisfied you’ll feel.
For some folks, three meals a day is okay, for others, five or six smaller meals works best. Go with what works for you. I eat multiple times during the day, usually three times before noon, up until my “dinner” usually around 5:00, and I find I rarely feel hungry at night. I’m always hungry early in the day though, so that’s when I eat.
I don’t know anyone who got fat from eating too many apples, do you?
by OneMoreBite | Jan 24, 2003 | Habits
We are all creatures of habit, going about our daily lives without giving it much thought. The same thing happens with our eating habits. Our favorite foods, snacks, times and places to eat. Mostly done out of habit. Have you ever polished off a bag of chips without even realizing your eating?
Most people vastly underestimate what they eat every day. In fact, it’s not uncommon for a person to ingest from 3,500 to 4,000 calories or more every single day. Double on weekends! Small wonder we carry a few extra pounds.
Follow yourself around today and track what you eat and drink out of habit. If you’re presently following a specific diet program, think back to what you used to eat. This is the first step in developing new habits that will support the body size and level of health you want to achieve.
