No Starvation

You decide to go on a diet.  You reduce your food intake, skips meals, eat only an apple or a plain crispbread!  By mid-morning you’re starving.  You’re probably also obsessing about food – you can’t think about anything but food!

Losing weight does not mean you have to starve yourself.   Making yourself only eat small portions and remaining hungry will only make things really difficult for you (often ending up in a binge!).  Hunger makes you vulnerable to temptation like never before!

You make dieting difficult for yourself if you skip breakfast, skip meals, eat very small amounts, or cut out filling (but good) foods.

Losing weight is about thinking and eating differently.  

EAT DIFFERENTLY

Move away from high-calorie, high-fat and high-sugar foods (especially processed foods) and eat healthy and nutritious foods instead.  The key to sticking to a weight-loss plan is to vary your food, eat out less and cook from scratch more.

You can still go out to restaurants, and you can still have a drink.  By understanding the nutritional content of your foods, you can make better choices and not overdo things.  

SmallerKnickers have provided a number of resources on the nutrients your body needs, and what are in our favourite foods.

THINK DIFFERENTLY

It is believed that we have a weight “set point”*: the level the body feels comfortable at.  If you try to lose weight quickly (and especially by starving yourself), this sends a panic alarm to the brain because it things it’s going into a famine state. Therefore, it will slow your metabolism and increase your cravings.  And once the diet is over, the body can end up storing more fat because it’s concerned about future shortages.

By slowly losing weight, your body can adjust without going into survival mode.  Your mind will learn that food is reliable.

In addition, you could be being tricked into eating when you’re not really hungry.  Take a look at our “Are You Really Hungry” film!

By eating healthy and nutritious foods when you’re really hungry, and not obsessing about banned foods, you won’t have to think of starvation as the option for reaching your health eating target.

You can also attend one the SmallerKnickers Workshops, to obtain more details and support so that you can achieve long term success.