People might run into many problems when trying to lose weight. A large percentage of those difficulties is psychological, and not just a lack of will power. A friend of mine, who works in the medical profession, said that a lot of her clients find it easier to quit smoking than to lose weight!
The problem with most people is that they have rituals attached to food, like having dessert every night, for instance. Here are some tips to help you break out of those fat-producing bad habits.
1. If you have pizza and beer after your workouts, try carbonate water instead of beer, and try to eat pizza less often. Opt for thin crust instead of regular or deep dish.
2. If you always have popcorn when you go to a movie (or watch at home), bring some healthy nuts like almonds or cashews next time. It will save you money, prevent your insulin from spiking, and won't make you fat!
3. If you crave dessert or something sweet, enjoy some fruit.
4. If you must have sweets, bake some yourself and use stevia powder as a sweetener instead of sugar. Stevia comes from a plant (not a chemical!) and has 0 carbs and 0 calories.
5. Avoid sugar first thing in the morning; you don't need to start your day with a sugar high. This sets a precedence for sugar cravings all day long, and saps your energy.
6. Don't try to do too much too soon. If you drink two sodas a day, begin your change by reducing that to one a day, and have carbonated water for the other one. Set small, attainable goals for yourself. After two weeks, remove the other soda from your daily habits. Soon you won't miss them at all.
Habits are hard to break. It's especially hard since we must eat to survive, and it's a lot easier to continue with bad habits than to try to make new, healthier ones.
Start small and use the sentence completion exercises in the Healthy Mind Fit Body book - this is a great way to develop new healthy habits and allow you to achieve the perfect body.
Kevin Koskella is a consultant in rational nutrition and building healthy minds and fit bodies. Most recently, he wrote the book "Healthy Mind, Fit Body" He is also a professional triathlon and Master's swim coach in the San Diego area
