No matter how great your weight loss motivation, you invariably break your diet at some point. Why is that? Slidell Memorial Hospital Chief Clinical Dietitian Paula Brown says one reason a person breaks his or her diet is because they're hungry – in some way – and food is everywhere!
"This is what you may think: ‘I just can't avoid all that delicious food, even if I want to. It's at home, it's at work, it's on TV – it's the central point of every social event I go to.' Listen, I empathize – it can feel as if your weight loss motivation is under attack every single place you go,” Brown says. "And the hungrier you are, the more delicious everything looks.”
So, if it's a given you can't get away from all that food that's tempting you, how do you control the hunger if you are a participant in Slim Down Slidell or anyone else trying to get healthier?
"You may think being hungry is a necessary evil when you're dieting. But it's not true. Help your weight loss motivation by dealing with your hunger, in the right way,” Brown says.
Just how do you do it? Brown says the answer is in identifying your hunger. In other words: what type of hunger is making you eat?
- True physical hunger. You haven't eaten for a few hours and your tummy is rumbling because it's empty. Brown says the cure is to just eat. But eat before you get so hungry you'll wolf down everything in sight. To be successful, plan to eat about the same amount of food in several small meals per day.
- Low blood sugar hunger. Within a couple of hours of eating some quickly-digestible starchy or sugary food, you will feel hungry again. The body is looking for food to replace the sugar quickly again. Brown says to choose high fiber foods such as oat products, cooked dried beans, fruits and vegetables. Also, she says, include a lean protein with your meals.
- Cravings hunger. If your craving is from a feeling of deprivation, Brown says you should not ban any food from your diet. Rather, she says, the rule is ‘everything in moderation.' If you "love” sweets or chocolate or even salty chips, you don't have to deny yourself. Plan when you will eat these foods. She says a good time might be at the end of the day when all your work is finished – sit down and enjoy that dark chocolate!
- Comfort eating. The list of why we may eat for comfort is endless: stress, low self-esteem, guilt, loneliness, boredom. Brown says the cure is to identify your own personal reasons for using food as comfort and find other ways to get solace than trying to fill the gap with food. Joining a support group or even seeing a therapist may be helpful for some people, she says.
- Social hunger. Your friend brought in homemade cookies to work and, if you refuse one, it may hurt her feelings. You're out for dinner with your book club; everyone else is having dessert and you didn't eat that big of an entrée so why not join in? Brown says the cure is to have clear reasons for wanting to lose weight and to value yourself enough to be assertive in putting your long term goals before short term satisfaction.
”To figure out your own patterns of eating and what is contributing to breaking your diet, you need to be a bit of a detective,” Brown says. "Try keeping a journal of what you eat and why. Use these clues to guide you as you start solving your own particular situation.”
Slim Down Slidell, the first community-wide weight loss competition, runs from May 2 to Aug. 1. Organized by Slidell Memorial Hospital to support the American Heart Association, winners will be selected by the greatest percentage of weight loss. Each participant must weigh in monthly at their original weigh-in location for accurate tracking purposes. The three official weigh-in locations are: Slidell Athletic Club (1311 Gause Boulevard) or Cross Gates Family Fitness (200 N. Military Rd., or 4038 Pontchartrain Dr.). A list of full rules, guidelines and information is available at SlimDownSlidell.org.
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ABOUT SMH
Slidell Memorial Hospital is a full-service 182-bed acute care not-for-profit community hospital located at 1001 Gause Blvd., in the heart of Slidell. Founded in 1959, SMH serves as a primary healthcare resource for families in St. Tammany Parish, La.; Pearl River County, Miss.; and the greater Mississippi Gulf Coast region. For more information, visit http://www.slidellmemorial.org/. The main phone number is (985)-643-2200.
ABOUT THE AMERICAN HEART ASSOCIATION
The American Heart Association is the nation's oldest and largest voluntary health organization dedicated to fighting heart disease and stroke. Our mission is to build healthier lives by preventing, treating and defeating these diseases – America's No. 1 and No. 3 killers. We fund cutting-edge research, conduct lifesaving public and professional educational programs, and advocate to protect public health. To learn more or join us in helping all Americans, call 1-800-AHA-USA1 or visit americanheart.org.
Media Contacts:
Sam Caruso, Jr., Slidell Memorial Hospital Wendee Bloom, American Heart Association
carusos@smhplus.org wendee.bloom@heart.org
985-649-8834 504-830-2304
