The Real Skinny on Weight Loss - Beat the Portion Control Bogeyman

The key to successful long-term weight loss is patience and the key to keeping the weight off is change. Einstein wasn't thinking about diets when he said the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. That's what dieting is starve yourself, lose a few pounds and hope then go back to what you did before and get more frustrated because you put back all the weight you lost and then some.

Diets fail because we cheat. We deny it, we pretend it doesn't happen but it does. When we cheat and how we cheat is an individual thing, it's personal. But why we cheat is almost universal. We cheat on our diets because we're hungry. Hunger gnaws at us, a constant reminder that we are dieting. In the developed world hunger is not about being nutritionally deprived, it's about not feeling satisfied, having a full belly is an evolutionarily desired state that says we are safe and secure.

When we force ourselves to walk away from the table less then satisfied it makes us uncomfortable. When we are uncomfortable and have a sense of insecurity at our core we are compelled to fix the problem. The cure for feeling hungry is to eat more and well eating more when you are dieting is cheating and cheating on a diet leads to failure and you get the picture, no more diet and we usually make up for the lost time by eating even more and not only gaining back what we might have lost but more.

What You Eat Matters More Then How Much You Eat.

The biggest problem we all face when trying to lose weight is portion control. If you've ever considered losing weight you've probably heard some variation of if the portion is bigger then your fist it's too much. Eat slower and give your body a chance to feel full. Step away from the table as soon as you're done eating.

All good advice but the reality is they don't work. Calorie creep gets the best of us when it comes to portion size control. Our fist looks progressively bigger or we sneak an extra forkful or two of meatloaf before we put away the leftovers. Most of us are over weight because we have a habit of stuffing ourselves and old habits die hard.

Habits are why diets fail! We can sustain ourselves for the short term eating less but we usually revert to routine after a short while. If portion control is your downfall eliminate it. Consider ground beef. In a hamburger or meatball or meatloaf it's about 3 oz of cooked ground beef is about 231 calories not including what you put on it or around it, like ketchup or bread. Three ounces of cooked ground beef is not going to fill most adults, which is where calories creep.

Now think of broccoli, other vegetables are pretty comparable, which has only 30 calories for 3 oz. Since I've upset you with talk of broccoli let me upset you further with some math. You would have to absolutely gorge yourself on a pound and a half of broccoli to get to the same number of calories as a single small meatball or a very slim burger.

I'm not suggesting that you become a vegetarian, what I am suggesting is that you use vegetables to satisfy your desire to be full and you don't have to worry about counting calories or portion control so long as you exercise a little self restraint when it comes to meat, fish, poultry and starches, like bread. You can eat until you're full and still consume less calories then you would otherwise.

Weight loss that lasts is about lifestyle changes and for a change in lifestyle to become a habit it shouldn't be uncomfortable. Reducing the size of your dinner works in the short term but fosters a resentment of yourself they results in your ending your diet and regaining any weight you lost.

Eat smarter and you'll weigh less. Make a new habit of healthier eating and pounds will take care of themselves. Experiment with a new vegetable every week until you've tried everything available in your local supermarket. Try different combinations of vegetables for different tastes. Use herbs and spices rather than sauces and ketchup to spice up your vegetables and pocket the savings in calories while enjoying the taste bud bonus.

For more great recipes and food ideas visit my food blog Frank Food Talk.

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Healthy Eating For Weight Loss - Take Control of Your Life

When people want to lose weight or improve their health, the tendency is to see a doctor or to register with a well known diet plan. Both these measures mean you are giving your power to someone else. This means that you feel you are not responsible for you.

When you combine healthy eating for weight loss, you can take that control back. In effect, you take responsibility for your life. You don't have to have any education at all to learn what the healthy foods are. And when you eat right, you naturally lose weight. It's that simple.

In fact, it's so simple, you can be forgiven for feeling that it can't work. But time and time again, it has been proved that people complicate things. The simple solutions always stare us in the face. Happily, most are usually seen - eventually.

Let's look at the other benefits of healthy eating gives you, besides your ideal weight.

It's economical. There is little or nothing else you have to buy, except good food. And good food in invariably cheaper than unhealthy food. So not only do you not have to pay for expensive drugs or diet plans, your food bill may even reduce.You look better. Everyone wants that. Your skin doesn't age as quickly. And all that without expensive surgery!You live longer. Few people will argue with how desirable that is.Of course, it's not just the fact of living longer that matters. You also need to have quality of life. By eating right, you will be more active, more alert, more able, increasing the quality of your life from now to the end.And finally, the satisfaction of regaining your health as well as your desired body shape and looks, is enormous. When you retake control of your life, of your health, of your looks and shape, when the results are all down to your efforts, the feeling cannot be described. It certainly boosts your self confidence.

But what is good food? It seems that every diet plan has differing views on what the healthy foods are. So, in stripping away the hype from the truth, you need to have some evidence. The evidence has to be not only in the loss of weight, but also in your improved health. And these have to be permanent changes.

Happily there is plenty of evidence. Such as curing minor diseases, even major ones such as diabetes and cancer, as the weight falls off.

Madeleine Innocent is a full time natural health consultant specialising in diet-for-health and homeopathy. She treats both people and animals within these two disciplines. She also coaches people both on- and off-line, on these subjects. For more information, visit: Healthy Eating For Weight Loss

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Weight Loss - How to Control the Cravings That Can Sabotage Your Diet?

ByAndrew S Simon

Losing weight is hard enough. Keeping it off for life is even harder. Dieters are beset on all sides by temptation, and it can be difficult for even those with the best willpower to resist to urge to snack. From ubiquitous fast food advertisements to strategically placed junk food displays at the grocery store, it can seem like the whole world is trying to make your diet fail. To survive all those temptations and lose that extra weight you will need to apply some psychology of your own. After all, food cravings are as much psychological as they are physical, and dealing with those cravings means understanding the events that trigger them.

Know Your Triggers
Until you know what triggers your overeating you will be powerless to stop those snack attacks It is important to pay attention to how your are feeling - both physically and psychologically-when food cravings strike. Some people eat when they are tired, others when they are agitated or stressed and still others when they are bored. Understanding the feelings that trigger snack cravings is the first step toward getting them under control. Once you know what is triggering those cravings you will be able to take steps to address those underlying feelings. Boredom can be combated in any number of ways, from taking a walk to catching up on a project from the office. Stress can be handled in constructive ways as well, from a long relaxing bubble bath to a few minutes of quiet meditation. Addressing the root causes of your cravings is the best way to get them under control.

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