There seems to be more and more evidence building up that an excess of the wrong type of carbohydrates can be just as detrimental to your health as an excess of saturated fat when it comes to cholesterol levels. One of the best things you can do to help get your diet under control is limit carbohydrates, especially high glycemic index carbohydrates.
1. Keep a food diary. Write down everything you eat, what you were doing at the time, and how you felt both before and after you ate. This will help you figure out your temptations and the emotional states that encourage you to snack. Many people are surprised by just how much they are eating once they start keeping track.
2. If simply can’t resist the urge to cheat, allow yourself a treat, but make sure it’s a low-carb or low glycemic index carb treat. treat. There are plenty of low carb snack on the market today – keep some handy but don’t overindulge. Low glycemic index (GI of 55 or less) carbs include most fruits and vegetables, beans, minimally processed grains, pasta, low-fat dairy foods, and nuts.
3. When you get a hunger pang, wait it out for at least 10 minutes to see if it passes. Try drinking 8 ounces of cold water.
4. Develop and focus on short term goals. Think about the 4 or 5 pounds you want to lose over the next month, not the 50 you want to lose overall.
5. Avoid added sugar at all costs. Highly sweetened foods make you crave more highly sweetened food.
6. Drink plenty of water water every day. As mentioned above, when a hunger pang hits, try drinking a glass of water instead of eating. Water, taken before and during meals, can dull the appetite by helping you feel full.
7. Support is important, and caring people can help one another succeed. You might notice as you start to see progress, some people will actually resent it. Don’t listen to the nay-sayers.
8. Substitute an activity for eating. When the cravings hit, do something instead of eating. Get up, walk around, take a break. This is especially helpful if you’re someone who tends to eat when you’re stressed.
9. Keep water handy to sip on.
10. Weigh yourself once a week at the same time. Weight fluctuates during the day. You can weigh more at night than in the morning.
11. Don’t shop when you’re hungry; you’ll end up buying impulse food.
12. Avoid finger foods that are easy to eat in large amounts.
13. Avoid consuming large quantities of diet sodas or other artificial sugar foods. Even though diet sodas are calorie free, their sweetness can kick-start cravings for more sweets. Same thing for anything sweet.
14. Keep crunchy foods like raw radishes, carrots, cauliflower and broccoli around. They’re low in carbs and are satisfying and filling.
15. Lose weight for yourself, not to please your husband, your parents or your friends.
16. Make the kitchen off-limits at any time other than mealtime.
17. If you’re just beginning a low carb diet, limit your carb intake to the suggested rate of 20 grams a day or less over the first two weeks. After only a few days of this, your appetite will decrease dramatically.
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