You know how it is whenever you decide to go on a diet. Your friends start to roll their eyes "Oh here we go again" (after all you said the same thing last month). Or they make it a policy to tell you off if you so much as dare to eat anything with more than a handful of calories ("I thought you were on a diet"). Or worse, they try and tempt you with all sorts of "treats" you really don't need. ("Come on, just a little, this once won't harm you")
Somehow when you declare yourself "on a diet" the world seems to find it necessary to judge you and take an uncanny interest in what passes your lips.
If you find that your family and friends are not helpful, just don't even mention that you're trying to lose weight.
Of course, if you're following one of those plans where you have to eat odd foods at fixed times then that will be pretty impossible to do.
But you don't have to do that to lose weight - if you follow a few simple principles you'll get there.
- Eat smaller portions of anything "with more than a handful of calories" and fill your plate with the good stuff - vegetables and salad.
- Drink water in preference to anything with calories. You know it's good for you. Have a little wine when out to dinner if you like - just don't have half a bottle. Drink a glass or two of water along with your wine.
- And just don't buy junk, offer it to others or say "yes" to it - you don't have to have any excuse - "No, thank you" will do.
If you only eat when you need to eat and decline when you're "just not hungry", have a small portion of the odd treat and eat particularly healthy food when you're in charge of what gets served, you'll lose weight.
If you eat more veggies and fewer fries, stop lacing your food with fattening mayonnaise, dressings or sauces and stop eating when you are satisfied (as opposed to so full you can hardly move), you'll lose weight.
If you move a bit more throughout the day, walk as much as you can and keep active in the office and at home this will help too.
And all these things you should be able to do without anyone noticing you are "on a diet" - after all you aren't on a diet! You are simply eating and moving just like your slimmer friends (the "naturally" slimmer ones) do all the time - and those are the kind of habits you need to get into to stay slim for the rest of your life.
Copyright 2007, Janice Elizabeth Small
