ONE of the reasons many of us fail in our attempt to lose weight is that we do more in planning for failure than planning for success. Let’s take fire as an example. Fire must have two essential ingredients in order to burn–fuel (whether wood, fabric, gasoline, or synthetic material) and air. When fire is deprived of either of these two essentials, it goes out. Likewise, in order to remain out of shape, overweight and out of control, two ingredients are crucial. One is your appetite and the other is giving yourself access to the kind of fuel that will increase your appetite while adding little or no nutritional value and storing calories in the form of fat. It is really not necessary for you to starve yourself in order to lose weight. In fact, before I was taught the fundamentals of nutrition, I discovered that one of the worst strategies you can practice in trying to lose weight is skipping meals. I know many people believe that if they cut one or two meals a day they will lose weight. Then they are shocked when they don’t lose weight at all, or worse gain pounds despite eating less.
If you already have a strong appetite, there is a good chance your appetite has increased not only because of how much you eat, but also because of the specific kinds of foods you eat. Foods that have a high glycemic index (white sugar, white bread) cause your blood sugar to rise and then rapidly crash, leaving you wanting more and creating an insatiable appetite even if your body does not need any additional calories for fuel. If you can get your appetite under control, you are well on your way to a changed lifestyle.
One of the hardest habits to break is storing provisions or food that make us fat. This is the cause of our failure get us back in shape. If you stop keeping unhealthy or junk food in our refrigerator or cabinets, you will have made a great leap toward permanent lifestyle changes. It will also assist you further not only in curbing your appetite but also completely reshaping it so you will be craving an apple or some other fruit, instead of ice cream, potato chips or chocolates.
Start looking around to see how many different food items you have hidden in secret places. Check your desk drawer at work, locker, dressing cabinet, where you usually keep candies, gum, chips. Look at what’s inside your refrigerator and freezer and your cupboards. Even in your car, there’s probably a place where you store a few snack items just in case you need to eat something. I laughed silently when one of my dearest friends told me that she caught her husband sneak out like a thief in the night in order to hurriedly eat a bar of chocolate!
Now that you have realized this, I suggest that you do something that is very hard to do: Get rid of the food that you have hidden! Or give them away. If you continue keeping these food items, it will only be days before you take refuge in them, say for example, when a colleague or family member gives you a harsh comment whether regarding your weight or when you’re emotionally down. It could be that moment when you find out that you have gained weight despite your best attempt to eat right. Or it could be the day when you received especially distressing news. This is because you have found comfort in eating unhealthy food. These food items have become so familiar that they are almost like a friend to you.
When you give in to the temptation of biting into that unhealthy food item, thereby consuming hundreds of calories that you either planned nor need, the worst thing is to think that since you already blew it, you might as well go all the way. You then continue eating until you have consumed your stored provisions or until you are on the verge of being physically ill! Always keep in mind that those calories will send your blood sugar soaring. The only thing most likely to stop it is when you finally run out of fuel. Now, ask yourself: Did you store those food items so that you will fail in your bid to lose weight? Resist the urge to give in to that first bite and avoid that disastrous crash in your weight loss plan. As well as feeling guilty afterwards. Junk those unhealthy food items now.