9 Secrets for staying slim and fat loss

When experts teach us on weight loss, it is usually all about exercise, calories and carbs. This is high-quality knowledge, but from one compulsive eater to another, I have provided some other tips that do not usually make the diet books. They will require some effort, but I have found them to be essential to proper self-care and weight loss.

1. Good nutrition: repeatedly our overeating is due to nutritional deficiencies. We search for the vitamins and minerals our bodies crave in excess food. Unfortunately, this is a nasty cycle since usually the food we overeat is devoid of any real nourishment, so it leaves us further depleted. As a first step, you need to start taking a good multi-vitamin, preferably one made from whole food. If you go to a healthy food shop, ask them for a whole food supplements, not just synthetic ones. Next, strive to eat organic foods that were grown on a soil that is not stripped of vital minerals like the soil of chemical-sprayed fruits and vegetables. Eating organic food will make you feel healthier, and feel better about yourself, since you are making an effort to be good to your body. Finally, stick with foods that have as little processing as possible. For example, cook a free-range turkey instead of eating cold-cuts. The more whole and natural, the more nutritionally sound.

2. Remember to bring lunch: Although it is easier to order take-outs with your other bored co-workers, that’s only makes weight loss much harder. Be purposeful about taking care of yourself. Think ahead and shop for foods that you can use to make a healthy salad for lunch. Buy some colourful Tupperware for your packed lunches. Put some care into making a fruit salad for yourself with various yummy fruits. You will be astonished how good about yourself you will feel and how superior for you it is to bring your own lunch to work and avoid the greasy, starchy alternatives your coworkers are devouring.

3. Never skip meals: Skipping meals is a trap! We always end up making up for the meals we skipped and then some! Make a point to eat three meals a day, and do not nibble in between. Would you skip feeding your children? Of course not. Then why do we think it is OK to skip our own meals? If you make a point to feed yourself on a schedule of three meals a day, you will be more balanced emotionally and you will actually build self-esteem. Both these things lead to a thinner weight and a better quality of life.

4. Good sleep: overeat is much easier to do when you are tired. You use food to keep going, thinking you will get more energy the more you eat. In reality, just the opposite occurs. When we overeat we feel awful, heavy, and lethargic. And we are still tired! Work on going to bed earlier. Late night nibbling is easier when it is late and we should be in bed. Take care of yourself by retiring to bed with a book, and then turn the lights out before your stomach starts to growl. Even if it is growling, go to bed, you will not hear it when you are asleep and it feels good to wake up in the morning with a clear conscience!

5. Make sure you stay hydrated: I know you know that 8 glasses of water a day is good for weight loss and health in general. True health experts will actually recommend that you drink more than this. The fact is that when we are dehydrated, we eat more. This is because it is easy to disguise thirst for hunger. We eat, looking to hydrate ourselves, when drinking a few glasses of water would easily quiet those hunger pangs. So next time you are positive that you need to eat more, try a big glass of water and wait at least 10 minutes. That may be all you need. Here is another tip: make it easy by bringing a bottle of water with you wherever you go.

6. Stop eating diet food: How do diet food companies keep us wasting money for more diet food? They put chemicals and addictive ingredients in them that make us captivated! I am talking about ingredients like MSG, and many forms of addictive sugars like corn syrup. Even NutraSweet has been proven to be a neuro-stimulant linked to stimulating appetite. Also, studies have shown that when people eat a diet food they feel like they can get away with eating more and end up overeating!

7. Keep away from Sugar: Sugar is extremely addictive and it offers hardly any health benefits. There is no such thing as having just a little! If you like things sweet, like me, try a truly healthy substitute: Stevia. Stevia Extract comes from the Stevia Rebaudiana plant and has been used traditionally for hundreds of years. It is sugar free and calorie free, and has no bitter trace. It even comes in packets, just like Equal or Splenda. You can get Stevia at any health food store. I buy it in liquid form with a dropper. Just a few drops in my tea or yogurt and I am happy!

8. Eat food Raw: I could write pages on the benefits of eating raw foods (fresh green beans instead of cooked or canned; raw, uncooked almonds instead of Blue Diamond Smokehouse Almonds). Besides the obvious nutritional benefits, another good reason to go is that your body has to work harder to process raw foods, thus burning additional calories. In addition, raw foods usually have far more nutrients than cooked foods. Raw foods often take longer to eat so your body has time to feel sated: try a spinach salad instead of creamed spinach with your meal.

9. Do not wait too long without eating: This is self-care 101! You listen to your children when they are hungry, why not yourself? The fact is, when you wait too long to eat your next meal, you are causing your adrenal glands to panic, believing your body is in starvation mode. Then when you do eat, they do not get the message when you have had enough. They are still attempting to save your life by causing you to believe you need to eat more. Take care of yourself! The biggest irony ever is that compulsive eaters do not know how to feed themselves

These helpful advices are based on the ideas of Tricia Greaves, the founder of Be Totally Free!, a non-profit organization helping others overcome emotional eating, eating disorders and various addictions. For a free 20 minute consultation, email Tricia at tricia@betotallyfree.com or call 310-281-8831.