U Turn On Food

I wanted to share a recent post from a sweet friend's blog. She happens to be a physician among other things and is one of the most intriguing people I have met in a long time. Her blogging stamina makes me jealous every day, yet I still keep going back. You can check out her other ideas at www.livingwithpower.org.

This is a "how ya doin' on your New Years Resolution" post. I thought it had some great thoughts about food choices. I share with her permission.

Thanks, Lina!

I’m talking to women here, because I’m sure if you’re a guy you started some kind of weird diet that includes burgers and fries and you still somehow lost more than your desired weight goal. Yada yada yada.

Don’t be discouraged, though. It’s not too late to get back on the saddle. We still have a few weeks to go before the pool season. It’s never too late to start now. You can do it. Where there’s a will there’s a way, and all that positive thinking and cliche statements.

But seriously, I figure I should use my expertise as a physician and share some great tips with you towards achieving your goal of losing those last 5-10 pounds. Let’s start by defining those foods that don’t make us fat.

Anytime you pick up a food, use these four criteria to judge whether or not it’s a food that won’t make you far:

1. you better not smell it. Seriously, if it smells good it’s likely fried or bathed in sugar. If you can smell it, drop it and pick up an odorless food. You’ll thank me later. And if you’ve got a cold, don’t use this as your excuse to binge. Simply put all food aside for a couple of days until your sense of smell is restored and you can judge the foods in front of your nose.

2. you better not see it. Portion control, portion control, portion control. Did I say portion control? It’s all about the size of the plate in front of you. If you can see the food, it’s too much. Put half of it away. This is a great tip to hang on to when your sense of smell is dim.

3. you better not wear it. I don’t care if you’re an apple or a pear, food will ultimately settle in around your belly or your hips. Make a decision not to wear the things you eat. The secret here is to take it off. Get on a treadmill. Go for a walk. Whatever you do, move. My assistant thanks me every time I send her on a hike to the mail room because she figures I’m saving her the cost of the gym. Learn from the wise. Exercise. Mind you, don’t over do it. Thirty minutes a day is plenty.

4. you better not crave it. This is a very well kept secret, but I’m going to share it with you. It all starts in the mind. The more you think about food the more you will want to eat. Have you ever noticed that you hardly ever think about food until the minute you decide to diet? Then it’s all you can do not to think about that ice cream sundae or that juicy burger. Take every thought captive. Stop the craving right between your ears!

All right. Hope these tips were helpful. On a more serious note, I’ve found loseit.com to be an incredibly helpful tip in watching what you eat. You can find it on the world wide web, or download it on your iphone.

If you have any other great tips for dieting, share them with the readers in the comments section!