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When you’re trying to lose weight, or even just eat healthier, you hear a lot of different advice from everyone.
But a lot of advice that’s supposed to help you lose weight could actually be making it harder for you to do so.
So what advice should you take? Let’s look at some of the most common advice and see if we can turn it into good stuff.
- Eat [insert number] of calories, and eat [insert number] of times per day. Some people could get a lot of help from this. After all, for some people routines and counting can help. But it could mean that you’re not listening to your body. If you limit yourself to only so many calories and only certain times per day, your body doesn’t get a say in when it’s hungry, and you could still end up hungry when you don’t want to be. Try listening to your body, and eat when you’re hungry, and eat mindfully until you’re full.
- Treat yourself occasionally, and only sort of. This just leaves you unsatisfied. Limiting yourself to something that isn’t even the satisfying version of what you want just leads to more cravings. So if you want ice cream, eat the full-fat ice cream, because you know the low-fat frozen yogurt won’t satisfy you. As long as you know you’re not going to make a habit of it, treat yourself to the real thing.
- Cut way back on [insert nutrient here]. Whether it’s carbs, fat, sugar, or dairy, just know: there’s no one food group to eliminate that will make you lose weight. The main way to find out what works for you is to eat foods that make you feel good. And there’s a difference between the temporary high and immediate low of fast food and the long lasting good feeling that comes with eating foods that nourish you. Figure out which foods do the latter, and stick to those. You won’t feel the need to binge on the bad stuff.
