After working with clients and successfully fighting my own battle of the bulge, I would like to offer a few suggestions to people wanting to lose weight. 1. Work with a doctor  A doctor can perform tests to see if there is a contributing medical factor to your weight gain. Some common culprits are thyroid and food allergies. A doctor who knows you and your body well may also be able to provide you with an individualized nutrition plan. 2. Get tested for food allergies or food sensitivities When the body is attacking itself due to food allergies, it doesn't absorb nutrition properly. This can lead to a general slowing down of metabolism and increased storage of fat and toxins in the body. I found out that this was the biggest contributing factor to my own weight gain. Since I have been off the foods I am sensitive to, I have lost 26 pounds (and counting)! It is especially important to investigate this if you have a condition like depression, eczema, arthritis, or fibromyalgia (among other ailments) because these conditions are often caused or aggravated by food allergies. 3. Start Slow! The biggest way dieters sabotage themselves is by doing too much, too fast. Remember, lasting change happens gradually. When beginning, it's best to focus on one thing at a time. For the first month or so, focus on JUST diet OR EXERCISE. Pick whichever you believe you think you will be more successful at or which everyone you believe needs attention first. In my own experience, there was a big learning curve in adopting the new diet associated with my allergies. All of the sudden, I had to avoid some of my favorite foods, especially wheat, tomatoes, garlic and dairy. For the first two weeks, I was in shock. I had to educate myself about all the ways these allergens are hidden under various names and forms on food labels. I had to read food allergy books and collect recipes. I also had to learn how to make substitutions and how to cook some altered versions of my favorites. There is no way I could have done all this if I had to worry about exercising too. It took me two months to get comfortable enough with my diet to add in the exercise. More importantly, I did it successfully, maintaining both programs on a daily basis. 4. Eat Regularly  You'd be surprised at how many clients who see me for weight loss eat just one or two meals a day. When you deprive yourself like this, you send a signal to your body that it is starving, so it should store any incoming food as FAT! In addition, if you wait to eat until you're VERY hungry, you will be more likely to eat too much of the wrong type of food. Begin with a good, protein-rich breakfast. Protein will sustain you and your appetite for a longer period than carbs. Having a light protein snack, like celery and peanut butter, a slice or two of lunchmeat, or a few raw nuts every three to four hours will also help level off cravings and hunger. 5. Work with a Therapist or Hypnotherapist This isn’t just shameless self-promotion. Losing weight is a much deeper issue than most people think. Consider this: we all KNOW what we should eat and that we need to exercise, but some people just can’t or won’t make that happen. The question is why? Why do we sabotage ourselves? Often there is a deep hurt or subconscious need for some sort of protection or control. It’s important to find the reason you subconsciously felt the need to put on the weight. This is where most fad diets fail. They only treat the body, not the mind or emotions. To achieve permanent weight loss, you need to find out what’s eating you so much that it’s causing you to overeat. Then, with a skilled therapist or hypnotherapist, you can begin the healing process and find other ways of meeting your needs without turning to food. |
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