Lose Weight Naturally

We all want to lose weight naturally. We want the weight to magically slip away. It seems as if we gained all of our weight overnight – so there should be some sort of magic pill, right?

The truth is it took time for us to gain those unwanted pounds and it will take time to lose them.

There is no secret to losing weight. To obtain and maintain our desired weight we must eat less and exercise more. Think about it, every single weight loss program from Atkins to the Zone have one factor in common. Each program reduces caloric intake in one way or another.

One problem we encounter is the word “lose”. We are brought up to be winners not losers. In your journey to obtaining your goal weight, think of all that you will WIN … when you lose those unwanted pounds.

You’ll win a healthier body
You’ll win an energetic spirit
You’ll win self confidence
You’ll win the body you want

What does the term “Lose Weight Naturally” mean to you?

I’ve found that this term can mean different things to different people.

Do you just want to change a few habits and lose weight?
If you’re struggling because of emotional eating then check out DietWatch 12-Lesson Program

Do you think of it as losing weight by ONLY eating natural foods?
Angela Stokes lost over 160 pounds by going raw. Read her story at RawReform the Natural Way to Weight Loss

Do you think it means losing weight without dieting?
If sugar cravings are destroying your best intenitons to eath healthy and lose weight then you need to read Stop Sugar Cravings and Lose Weight Naturally.

According to the American Heritage Dictionary the word naturally means:

In a natural manner
By nature, inherently
Without a doubt, surely

To lose weight naturally you need to begin by making wiser choices about what goes into your mouth. Our weight is determined by how and what we eat 90% of the time.

Below are some examples of simple changes that will reduce your caloric intake and help you to lose weight naturally.

Eat a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables

Eat fresh fruit in place of drinking juice
Cut out the sugar and/or cream in your coffee
Cut off visible fat from your meat
Use mustard instead of mayonnaise
Make delicious omelets out of egg whites
Eat an open faced sandwich by omitting 1 slice of bread
Eat smaller portions

Believe in yourself because you can do it!

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Mindless Eating – Why We Eat More Than We Think

Brian Wansink is the author of the new book “Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think“. He is the director of the Cornell University Food and Brand Lab.

In his book, Brian Wansink discusses some of the hundreds of food studies he has conducted over the years. His conclusions are that when we become more mindful of the choices we make, that we will be able to live and eat better.

All day, every day we are making choices about what, when and how much to eat. Most of these choices are made mindlessly. In his book, Wansink states that we make an average of 200 food choices per day! (It’s hard to imagine that we actually make that many choices a day. Maybe we should try counting our own choices.)

Mindlessly eating packs on more calories and pounds than planned snacks do. Multiple studies prove that we eat what’s there, whether or not we are hungry.

Think about your own habits. How often have you said to yourself “I can’t believe I ate the whole bag of cookies” … or the chips or the container of ice-cream, or that large platter of food at the restaurant?

Though not new, here are a few tips to end mindless eating:

Buying in bulk often results in eating more – As soon as you open a package of cookies, chips etc portion them out in baggies.
The longer you sit at a table the more likely you’ll eat more – Eat only in one place and leave as soon as you are finished eating.
The more choices we have, the more we eat – At a buffet only place two items on your plate at a time.
Don’t clear the bones – Studies show that when eating chicken wings people ate 30% more when the bones were continually cleared from the table
Low fat foods could be hurting us – According to a study people eat an average of 28% more calories while eating low-fat snacks.

Why do you want to eat?

Is your hunger physical or emotional?

If you felt a sudden burst of hunger it is more than likely emotional. Physical hunger is usually gradual.

There are cues all around us to eat. These include who we are with, smells, food packaging and serving sizes. Being aware of these cues may ward off mindless eating.

To my surprise even music can affect our eating behaviors. Listening to songs with a soft beat or classical music can cause you to eat slower (as a result you eat less). Listening to music with a fast beat or rap makes you eat faster (consequently you eat more).

Become aware of what and why you are eating – this will help you to overcome mindless eating.

You can be in control of what you eat by beginning to make conscious changes of what when and why you are eating.

According to Wansink there are five danger zones, He lists them as (1) Meal Stuffing, (2) Snack Grazing, (3) Restaurant Indulging, (4) Party Binging and (5) Desktop Dining.

Wansink’s goal is to raise consumer awareness of why and how we eat. By learning what situations trigger us to eat, we can gain better control over our food choices. The book discusses the psychology of eating and what motivates us to overeat.

While the book Mindless Eating helps us to become aware of why we eat, it is NOT a “weight loss diet program’. It can be used as a great resource tool in helping you to achieve and maintain your weight loss goal.

Remember losing weight permanently requires lifestyle changes. Lifestyle changes will put an end to mindless eating.

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