Module 2.1: Weight Loss Strategies
THREE ACTION STEPS
Read the emotional eating tips and try one for yourself.
Schedule in an intermittent fasting day this week (follow my 9 support steps).
At dinner time, do the mindful eating exercise using all your senses.
Welcome to Week 2 of the program!
This week you will continue following the guidelines and principles of the 28-Day Summer Body Meal Plan Diet. New Recipes, a Shopping List, and a Meal Planner were delivered to you on Friday.
The diet is still plant-based as this is the absolute best way to enhance the natural detoxification of your body, improve your nutritional status, and help you achieve weight-loss.
However, this week the diet includes more animal protein, along with a few easy-to-digest grains.
Now that your digestive system has had a well-deserved break, you can slowly introduce more variety into your diet.
If you are willing to stay on the vegan diet I encourage it, as this will further support weight loss.
In this module we're going to delve into emotional eating, and the triggers that can cause our healthy intentions to go out the window. I will be sharing with you some top tips on how you can manage this without sabotaging all your good work.
Below are my top tips for mindful eating, a technique that helps you gain control over your eating habits. It has been shown to promote weight loss, reduce binge eating, and help you feel better.
You are also going to learn about intermittent fasting, and the numerous benefits it brings for both your health and for weight loss.
I encourage you to give my tried and tested eating control strategies and practices a go, it could be the missing link that has prevented you from achieving your weight loss goals in the past.
“When diet is wrong, medicine is of no use. When diet is correct, medicine is of no need”
MODULE 2.1: Weight Loss Strategies
How to Overcome Emotional Eating
Let’s be honest, we can all find ourselves eating our feelings at one point or another.
You may be in a food coma but you still know that you haven't addressed the actual sources of your feelings head on.
The most common emotional triggers for food can include; stress, depression, sadness, boredom, and a general need for comfort.
Reaching for a bag of biscuits, or a bowl of ice cream in order to comfort yourself can become a regular habit.
Over time this behaviour can become an emotional-eating pattern that prevents you from getting healthy and from having the body you desire. By recognising this you can start making different choices which support your (summer) body goals.
Read my six personal tips and tricks to help combat your emotional eating habits.
I've been there, elbow deep into my second McDonalds burger and starting to feel the guilt and shame with a side serve of self sabotage. At the time it still tasted way better than having to deal with those anxious feelings and stressed-out thoughts.
Is this something you can relate to?
I think most of us can, but while it might feel good in THAT moment, it unfortunately doesn't last.
It's quickly followed by a sinking feeling when you look down and see the bottom of the chip bag or ice-cream bucket, and you see that it's empty.
Intermittent Fasting for Weight Loss
Intermittent fasting is a timed eating pattern that has been shown to have proven health benefits.
If you are interested in trying intermittent fasting or a cleanse day, week 2 is a perfect time to introduce it, as your body will be less toxic than it was at the beginning, so headaches and cravings will be minimised.
All you need is the willpower to see it through!
PLEASE NOTE: For those who are brand new to this, trial it by cutting out the snacks. Then you can try a 12hr fast, say from 7pm - 7am.
From 13hrs the big thing that happens is growth hormone kicks in and you can lose weight. It can help to burn fat and slow the ageing process down.
If you choose not to practice any intermittent fasting, that is fine also. Listen to your body and what it needs. To keep hormones and blood sugar levels balanced sometimes you need to eat more often. The breakfast and snack recipes are all low calorie and supportive of weight loss and detoxification.
If you're keen to do intermittent fasting a few times this week, or go for a full fast day, read my 9 reasons to practice intermittent fasting, and download my Fast Day Tips for how to go about it to get the best results.
It has been shown to support detoxification by increasing your body's inherent autophagy process, giving your body a chance to "catch up" on the removal of lingering toxins.
If done correctly it can also lower blood pressure, reduce inflammation, boost brain function, aid a better sleep, and enhance your immune system.
There are many ways that you can practice intermittent fasting.
Some people like to incorporate the practice into their everyday meal planning, perhaps by skipping breakfast and fasting for 13 -17 hours in a 24 hour period. This means you only eat within a specific time window, for example between 11am to 7pm.
Others prefer to drastically reduce their calorie intake to between 500 and 600 calories for 2 out of every 7 days - as per the 5:2 diet.
Another increasingly popular method is having fast days, otherwise known as fast days.
For this you would fast for 24 hours once a week, drinking plenty of filtered water and herbal teas, with one or two small healthy snacks to help control blood sugar levels.
Mindful Eating
Mindful eating stresses the importance of focusing on the present moment and being aware of your senses while consuming food.
Use all your senses to fully experience your food and drinks.
How many meals, snacks, coffees, calories have you bolted down without noticing? Paying close attention to the smells, textures, sounds, colours and tastes of our food increases our enjoyment of food and can help prevent overeating.
Mindful eating Exercise
To get you started with your mindful eating practice, I have a simple exercise for you to try. I want you to use all your senses to enjoy a small bit of food. This can be any small piece of food such as a raisin, a square of dark chocolate, a blueberry or an almond.
Sit in a comfortable position and follow these steps:
Hold it in clean hands and examine it. What do you see?
Next, notice how it feels in the palm of your hand. What is the texture like?
Now, bring it to your nose and inhale. What do you smell?
Next, bring it to your ear, moving it back and forth between your fingers. What do you hear?
Finally, place it in on your tongue. Slowly move it around your mouth, noticing any feelings or sensations that arise. When you’re ready, begin to chew slowly, noticing the taste and how it changes over time, then swallow.
You can record your findings in your journal. With practice, bringing mindful awareness to your food can bring greater enjoyment of food, and can become an effective, long term weight loss strategy.
It can also be an effective weight-loss strategy.
How many calories do you consume throughout the day without realising it?
Slowing down, and paying attention to your food allows you to really taste and savour your food, and teaches you to follow hunger cues.
Bring awareness to your meals with these mindful eating tips:
Make a conscious decision to eat.
Before you eat, ask yourself, “How hungry am I right now? Am I eating out of hunger, habit, boredom or emotion?” If you find that you’re not actually hungry, consider getting a glass of water or a cup of herbal tea and distract yourself for a few minutes by taking a short walk or doing a puzzle.
Eat slowly.
Pause and put your fork down between bites, chew slowly, and avoid eating on the run. This is not always easy as a busy mum and there will be times that you have to rush through a meal to get to an activity or an appointment. But if you can allow more time for your meals you will appreciate your food more, and give your body time to tell you it’s full.
Avoid distractions while eating.
For many of us this is easier said than done! Numerous studies have found that it leads people to overeat because it reduces your awareness of how much you’re consuming and prevents you from recognising your body’s fullness signals.
So turn off the TV and put away your phone, laptop, books and magazines until you are done.