6 Quick Tips to Quiet the Hungry Horrors

Have you reached your goal weight only to discover you cannot seem to control the urge to eat everything in sight? Do you feel like you are fighting with yourself over wanting high-fat, high-calorie junk foods?

If so, perhaps you have begun to sample some of the trigger foods that helped you gain weight in the first place. It might be time to address the misconceptions that when you finally lose the weight...

A – You can eat whatever you want, and
B – You will feel so great (cured, enlightened) that the goodies you loved will no longer appeal to you.

Well, the truth of the matter is that it takes a very long time to establish lasting healthy habits - and maintaining weight loss can be even more challenging than losing it. And, for some of us, those food cravings never really go away.

The good news is that practicing your weight management skills will help you keep your weight off successfully! Here are some things you can do right away, when that out-of-control feeling around food starts to happen:

#1 Practice - MORE is Better! More of the good stuff that is. Make sure that you are eating enough to stay full. Have plenty of fruits and veggies, lean proteins and whole grains. Use HMR Shakes as meals and snacks - especially when you are on the go. A 200 calorie double chocolate shake could save you hundreds of calories at the coffee shop or the drive-through!

#2 Eat Often. Eat Often. Eat Again. Every couple of hours. As soon as you let yourself get hungry, your ability to make healthy choices begins to decrease. The hungrier you are, the more out of control you will feel. If you are hungry, you will eat and you will eat what's there. And what's there – if you didn’t put it there – usually makes you gain weight.

#3a Create Supportive Environments by adding in the healthy stuff. Have plenty of fruits and veggies cut up, cooked, peeled, sliced and ready to go at home. Keep snacks in the car, at your friend's house, at work, and in your bag. Never leave home without healthy snacks. HMR 70 Plus puddings are a great snack option you can mix right in the packet. Bring food with you to social events. Edible Arrangements are awesome (and you can easily make your own version with skewers and cut-up fruit).

#3b Create Supportive Environments by taking out the unhealthy stuff. (Realize that even some healthy stuff should be removed if it's a trigger food for you!) Don't expect to be Superwoman (or Superman). If the cookies are not there – you can't eat them. Keep it that simple. Peanut butter is healthy – but not if you eat the whole jar during an episode of Mad Men. Be realistic and throw away – or give away (food pantries need food!) the items that don't work for you.

#4 Give yourself a break by staying out of places and situations that do not support your weight management goals. If you're a fast food junkie, don't expect that you'll be able to order a salad every time you drop in to McD.'s. Just don't go there! Choose different restaurants – or better yet – figure out new ways of interacting socially that don't center around food!

#5 Be Physically Active Every Day!

#6 Focus on the positives. Make a list of the foods you can eat and experiment with new recipes. Reward yourself for the little things like having all your veggies this week. Put on your favorite new clothes and tell yourself how FaB-U-Lous!!! you are.

Be patient and consistent. Tolerate your feelings of discomfort. You are learning a new way of life and change is hard. Forgive yourself if you make a mistake. Move on, make a shake, try again. Look at every experience as an opportunity to learn something new about yourself.

Congratulations on reaching your goal weight! You are doing an awesome job! Keep up the good work!
 

by luv2run on 10/31/2012 | Share Story With a Friend

tags: Weight-Loss, HMR, strategies