Are you concerned about your weight? Have you tried numerous weight loss programs without lasting success? Are you experiencing health problems related to your weight? Do you often find yourself comparing your weight to that of others? Are you searching for that ever elusive magic bullet to control your weight? Affirmative responses are symptomatic of the obsession regarding weight that permeates our society. No gender, age, race, geographical region, religious background, or ethnicity seems to evade this overwhelming concern. We are constantly inundated with television, radio, and print ads about weight, particularly to lose it, suggesting that whatever we weigh is the wrong amount. There are literally hundreds of diet plans -- some with helpful information, others with practices that may be detrimental to your health. Some are very restrictive in what you eat, when you eat, and how much you eat. There are others that suggest you can eat all you want and not gain weight. There are prescription and over-the-counter drugs, herbal supplements, and homeopathic remedies that promise to increase the metabolism and quench the natural hunger drive. New foods are introduced almost daily that have no fat, low calories, and few nutrients. Everyone's looking for the magic bullet that will allow us to overindulge ourselves with food, be lazy about exercising, and still have the body of the model on the cover of the hottest fashion or sports magazine.
It's important for us to maintain an appropriate amount of weight for our bodies to function properly. What that appropriate weight is depends on many variables -- our genes, our bone structure, our height, our metabolism. In order to maintain our "ideal" weight, we don't need scales or charts -- we need to be in sync with our bodies. Following someone else's prescribed system of eating may or may not work for you. You have to experiment and find out what's the best way to fuel and nourish your body. Once you know what works best, then you can make conscious choices about how you fuel and exercise it.
So, what's my ideal weight? You're at your ideal weight when your body functions properly and you feel and look healthy. You feel light and energetic, and your body moves with ease. You don't carry unneeded body fat. You think clearly. You consider food as a maintenance tool rather than as a drug or entertainment.
Attaining and maintaining your ideal weight is indeed possible. Here are some tips on how you can weigh just the right weight for you.
1. Appreciate your body. It's the only one you'll have. It's the vehicle through which you experience life. Rather than malign it when it doesn't function the way you think it should, express your gratitude for it daily.
2. Look in the mirror. Stand in front of a full length mirror without clothing. Examine your body. Use the 'pinch an inch' test to determine if you have excess fat. Determine what you like and don't like about what you see. Accept the reality that this is your body. Consider any health conditions that are impacted by your body's weight. Decide if there's anything you need to do to make changes so you'll have a healthy body -- inside and out. Be realistic about what you can change and what's your physiological makeup.
3. Stay off the scales. Monitor the appropriateness of your weight by how you feel, how your body functions, and how you look to yourself. Remember that muscle weighs more than fat. If you must, weigh only once a month.
4. Move your body. Moving your body through exercise and physical activity regularly is the best way to use up excess calories. Exercise increases your body's metabolism and keeps the systems moving and the organs strong.
5. Look at the reasons you eat. If you eat because you need to take a break, consider stretching or taking a walk outside. If you eat because you're upset, consider calling a friend, hitting some golf balls, or writing down your thoughts. Make a list of alternative actions you can take in the place of eating when you're not really hungry.
6. Eat only when you're truly hungry. Before you begin eating, take a few quiet moments, place your hand on your stomach, and ask yourself, "Am I really hungry?" Wait for a response. If it's ambiguous, drink some water and ask again in about 15 minutes. Refrain from eating because others want you to, it's time, it's there, or you paid for it. Don't give in to pressure to have one more piece or just one more bite.
7. Eat only when you're sitting in a calm environment. When you have a specific routine, liking sitting at the table without distraction, you're cueing your body to prepare for digestion. By paying attention to your food, rather than reading, watching television or engaging in debate, your body can concentrate on assimilating the food.
8. Eat slowly. It takes about 20 minutes or so for the stomach to cue the brain that it's full. So eating slowly will give your stomach more time to send its message. Take one small bite at a time. Chew your food until there's nothing left to chew. Digestion begins with chewing.
9. Eat foods close to their natural state. Unadulterated whole foods will fuel your body's processes and replenish nutrients. The more processed the food, the less effective it is in meeting your nutritional requirements.
10. Eat and drink only the foods that agree with your body. If you eat a meal and you have indigestion afterwards, consider what ingredients may have caused the indigestion. Pay closer attention to those foods the next time you eat them. If you find they continue to upset your system, eliminate them from your diet.
So, there is a magic bullet for maintaining ideal weight after all. It comes from making conscious choices about what, when, and how you eat, how you exercise your body, and what you think about your body. That magic bullet...is you!
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