Its Not What You Eat But How Much

People who want to lose weight usually make two changes in an attempt to achieve this goal. They try to consume less food, and at the same time switch from so-called "bad" food to "good" food. "Burgers and Fries" are swapped for "Lettuce and Lentils" in an attempt to get the weight down.

Lifestyle changes of this magnitude will of course have to made to maintain long term weight loss, but in the initial stages, this "double change" approach may not be the best way to proceed.

The main problem for people in the affluent Western World, where food is available in such abundance, is not so much one of type as amount. The sheer volume of food we consume, both "good" an "bad" is the first problem that needs to be dealt with. Yes we do eat the wrong foods, but I am convinced that the amount of food has to be changed before type.

The reason for this is that in spite of the "bad press" fat and sugar receive, they are very effective at satisfying hunger and supplying energy. If you switch from "Burgers and Fries" to "Lettuce and Lentils" and reduce the amount of food you eat at the same time, you are going to feel mighty hungry.

It is therefore a better approach to reduce the amount of food consumed while sticking more or less to what you are used to eating. It is possible to lose significant amounts of weight this way and you will be more comfortable doing it.

When the habit of eating less becomes ingrained the change to foods that will help you maintain weight loss can begin. This will mean seeking out and experimenting with foods that deliver similar hunger satisfaction and energy to the "bad" food that you used to consume. This becomes necessary when food intake is reduced because the energy available is reduced by the reduction in volume. Unless you make these changes the drop in energy levels will result in tiredness and irritability.

Making changes to your diet in this gradual way allows you to investigate which foods satisfy your hunger and energy requirements best. Low G.I. is an obvious way to go, but so are nuts, raw vegetables and dried fruits. The latter are excellent for supplying energy because of their slow-release, long-grain fructose sugar. Their effects last much longer than the short grained processed sugars of candy bars and the like.

Experimenting with food will enable you to adjust your diet to what is best for you, rather than impose a "one-size-fits-all" regime upon yourself. This in turn, will result in the lifestyle changes that you need to put in place to to secure your permanent weight loss.

We also need to keep in mind that there are no "bad" foods as such, it is the amount in which they are consumed that makes them "bad". We need fat and sugar in our diet so leave room for the occasional indulgence, your body and psyche need it. As I said earlier, it is amount more than type that causes our problems.