Step 1. Say Goodbye
to Dieting
Forget all about dieting!
In fact, you should remove the words diet and dieting from
your mind, altogether. Why? Because they are getting in the way. They
are preventing you from tackling your weight problem. Every time you hear
these words you switch off and reach for the cookies. Result? Your weight
problem gets worse.
Step 2. Say Hello to
Healthy Eating
Healthy eating is a
much nicer phrase than dieting. Start using it today.
Step 3. Put Away Your
Scales
Weighing scales don't make
you lose weight. They just terrorize you. Put them away now! (Actually,
don't put them away until you finish reading this page, because you'll
need them to complete Step 5.)
Step 4. Stop Worrying About
Your Weight
Here's why:
- Worrying about your weight makes you fatter
Why? Because worry makes you miserable.
Result? You eat cookies and get fatter.
- Worrying about your weight problem makes you less able to solve
it
Why? Because worry makes you feel more of a failure. Result? You are
beaten before you start.
- Worrying is a waste of your valuable time
Do something you enjoy, instead.
Step 5. Take Your Clothes
Off and Look in the Mirror
Ideally, do it tomorrow morning,
before breakfast.
At the same time, please do the following:
- Weigh yourself
- Measure your bust, waist, hips and thighs.
Step 6. Start Looking Ahead
Don't worry about how you
look next week, or next month.
Take a longer term view - say, 6 months.
- Decide what weight you would like to be in 6 months.
- Decide on a good incentive to help motivate yourself.
Step 7. For the Next 7 Days
Keep a Food Journal
(a) Write down every single
thing you eat. (b) Write down when you ate it.
Don't waste time cheating.
The purpose of this diary is to enable you to see what you actually
eat, as opposed to what you think you eat! Also, it will help you
to see when you eat.
SUMMARY
So far, you have done a number of important things:
- You have stopped thinking about dieting and worrying about your weight.
- You have decided how much weight you want to lose and why.
- You have taken a good honest look at yourself and your eating habits.
Step 8. Create a Healthy Eating Plan for Yourself
Keep it simple, as follows:
- Eat regular amounts of these foods
Fruit, vegetables (fresh/frozen/canned), whole grains such as: whole
wheat bread, potatoes, brown rice, whole wheat pasta, oats, whole grain
cereal.
Guide: Eat a minimum of 5 helpings of fruit and vegetables, per
day.
Guide: Eat 3-5 helpings of whole wheat or whole grain foods,
per day.
Guide: Avoid white-flour foods whenever possible. Always prefer
whole grains.
- Eat regular amounts of these foods
Skimmed milk, fat-free yogurt, lower-fat cheese.
Guide: Eat a minimum of 3 helpings of lower-fat dairy foods (milk, yogurt)
per day.
Guide: Limit yourself to a maximum of 1 matchbox size piece of
cheese, per day.
- Eat these protein foods
Eggs (or egg-whites), fish, lean red meat, skinless turkey and chicken,
soybeans.
Guide: If you have high cholesterol levels, eat no more than
4 eggs a week.
Guide: Red meat, limit yourself to 1 x 3oz portion (size of deck
of cards) a day, 3 days/week.
Guide: Include vegetarian protein from soy foods, peanuts, lentils.
- Eat these foods sparingly
Oil, butter, soft margarine/spread, mayonnaise, cream, refined sugar.
Guide: Aim to eat 30 percent of calories from quality oils or
fats.
Guide: Unprocessed vegetable oils (extra virgin olive oil, canola
oil), fish oils from oily fish like mackerel, salmon, herring or tuna
are best. Avoid margarines containing trans-fats (hydrogenated fat).
- Drinks
Water, fruit juices, tea or coffee (but easy on Espressos!)
- Enjoy the occasional
Pastry, cookie, candy bar/chocolate, bag of popcorn/tortilla chips/crisps
Guide: 'Occasional' means (say) once a week. These foods contain
trans-fats and lots of calories!
Note:
If you know very little about diet nutrition, take action to find out
more. Surveys show that the more we know about healthy eating and diet
nutrition, the easier it is to lose weight.
Step 9. Fill Your Refrigerator
With Healthy Food
We eat whatever sits in our
refrigerator. So empty out the junk food and fill up on foods from Step
8.
Step 10. Learn How to Cheat
Do you hate fruit and vegetables?
If so, that's tough. You MUST make friends with fruit and vegetables.
Eat at least 5 helpings per day, although more is better. There are no
substitutions. However, you can cheat. Here's how:
- Make home made soup. Ideally, add spices, a little lean meat and
lots of vegetables.
You won't taste the vegetables.
- Make fresh orange juice
Many people won't eat 3 whole oranges every day. But they will drink
the juice!
- Make blended fruit drinks (smoothies)
Guide: Use 1 cup of fresh fruit + 1 cup fruit juice. For extra
creaminess add a little fat-free fruit yogurt.
Step 11. Trim That Fat
Get into the habit of trimming
all the fat off meat. All means all. This alone will dave you thousands
of calories AND help you to live longer.
Step 12. Learn How to Snack
Healthily
Fruit, chopped veggies, cereal,
nuts, dried fruit and fat-free yogurt are excellent choices, so are thick
sandwiches (lots of thick chewy bread, small amount of margarine/spread,
lots of low fat filling.)
Step 13. Be Choosy
Where You Dine Out
Frequent dining out (main
meal) is one of the biggest reasons why America is so fat. So be choosy!
- Don't enter a fast food restaurant unless it's a SPECIAL treat.
- Never dine out on the spur of the moment.
- Limit yourself to one dining out experience, per fortnight.
Step 14. Don't Go Hungry
Don't forget about food and
allow yourself to go hungry. For any healthy eater, hunger is a crime.
In fact, going hungry is the dumbest thing you can do. Never go hungry!
Step 15. Be More Active
Ideally, set aside 20 minutes
a day to exercise (or 2 x 10 minutes) and gradually build up to 30 minutes
a day. Yes, you may hate it to begin with but, believe me, exercise grows
on you! Besides, it's worth remembering that exercise leaves you with
MORE energy, not less. See also Exercise
for idiots.
Step 16. Follow This Diet
Plan for 3 Months
By then you should have lost
an easy 15-30 pounds.
The best thing is: Your eating habits will
have improved tremendously. Which means you stand an excellent chance
of keeping off the weight and getting your weight problem under control
for good!
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