Tuesday, July 17, 2007

10 Weight Loss Tips for Permanent Weight Loss

1. Eat only when you are hungry.

This means stop eating the minute you are full. This means
if you go out to dinner and eat all the bread in the
breadbasket you don't eat your dinner. This means if it is
lunch break at work and you aren't hungry don't eat. This
means if you are in the middle of a sandwich and you are no
longer hungry, you stop eating.

2. When you aren't hungry and eating for joy only, make
sure you are eating something fantastic and tasting every
bite.

There will be times when you want to eat just for the joy
of it. I say if you only do this 10% of the time you can
still lose weight. But the trick is to make sure you enjoy
each bite, taste it fully and stop as soon as the joy of
eating it fades. If you pay attention, you will be
surprised how soon this might be.

3. Be curious about yourself-not judgmental.

When you do something that you think is "off" you plan of
what you would like to be doing, be curious and try to find
out why you do what you do. Explore the thoughts that lead
to the action. Be kind and understanding with yourself.
Give yourself the benefit of the doubt.

4. Believe it is possible to be thin without being mean to
yourself.

You do not have to beat yourself into submission for
thinness. In fact, I have found the opposite is true.
Loving yourself and being kind to yourself is a much better
path to permanent weight loss.

5. Feel your feelings.

Be anxious. (Don't eat.) Be sad. (Don't eat.) Be afraid.
(Don't eat.) Be angry. (Don't eat.) If you use eating as
an alternative to feeling you are most likely going to be
overweight. The sooner you feel your feelings the sooner
they will subside.

6. Stop expecting things "out there" to change so you can
feel better.

Don't wait for a better job, a thinner body, a nicer
husband or a better tasting diet in order to be happy. You
can be the source of your own joy by finding out what you
love to do and who you love to be. By living your own
truth, you can be happy no matter what is going on "out
there."

7. Even when you think you have "blown it" write down every
piece of food that goes into your mouth and then read that
list with fascination.

It may feel better to write in the food journal when you
are eating fuel most of the time, but that is not when it
is the most important. When you are fog eating and storm
eating and binging and going crazy with food, you have the
best opportunity to learn about yourself and why you do
what you do. No matter how much you have eaten and no
matter how big the binge was, write down every single thing
that went into your mouth and look at it with kind
curiosity.

8. Realize that eating when you aren't hungry is not
satisfying hunger or comforting you-it's just making you
heavy.

Notice the terminology you use when discussing food. " I
had my chocolate fix." " I needed comfort food." "I
wanted to give myself a treat." Food is not a good source
of emotional comfort and it cannot fix you.

9. Remember the past does not equal the future

We have all been on many many diets. Many of us have been
heavy a long time. This does not mean that you can't lose
weight. You have been doing the best you can. And when you
know better- you do better- and you look better….

10. Never give up!

Enough said.


----------------------------------------------------
Brooke Castillo, Certified Weight Loss Coach, Author- "I am
So Smart, Why Can't I Lose Weight?"
http://www.coach4weight.com

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