Santa I Am NOT

I had a eureka moment recently, Santa is the ONLY person in the world who is genetically predisposed to be BOTH jolly and fat. For the rest of us lesser mortals both (jolly & fat) are mutually exclusive!… at least in my experience.

One of the most heart breaking effects of obesity is the toll it takes on your mental health. I read somewhere that more than 75% of obese people are predisposed to depression. For me it is a dangerous vicious cycle …I eat because I am depressed and I gain weight because I eat too much, then I eat some more because I fat; then I get even more depressed and eat even more… you know how it goes. A life of consistent sub-conscious overeating, all the while feeling bad about it.

I have come to realize that eating is no less a compulsion than other famous compulsions people suffer from. And if like me you suffer from a compulsion to eat, and eat and then eat some more you need to acknowledge that you have to do something about it. What I call common sense methods to deal with everyday life issues. People who have not experienced this constant mental dialog may not appreciate it, some have even told me to simply STOP EATING! It’s not that simple. But neither are we helpless.

Some of the things I do to help me curb eating uncontrollably include:

Exchanging my fad foods for healthier options; for examples rather than eat that slice of cake, why not change and have some pawpaw slices instead – they are just as filling and loads more nutritious. I’ve cultivated the habit of going fruit/veg shopping every Saturday; so I have these fruits on hand every day of the week (night or day). If you check my bag now you will always find an apple or a plum – just something – an alternative to my go to packet of biscuits! I find that it helps – especially as I am conscious of not over eating and binging on the wrong things.

Ever sat down at your desk to do some real work and reach for a single biscuit and a sip of tea… then two hours later your work is all done but you have noshed away an entire packet of Rich Tea biscuits and guzzled two cups of sweetened tea? That is the story of my life – I tended to fall into this trap DAILY! Not ideal when you want to ‘Drop It’, right? I call this unconscious binging…and it leaves me feeling sooooo baaaadddd. My remedy? I try focus on my food when I am eating – yes, focus on the food going into my mouth – not food and TV, not food and my computer – just FOOD. This way when my brain is yelling ‘you are full’ I hear and can stop. Give this a try and let me know how it goes.

Eat less but more often – sounds wack right? I thought so when my sister shared this with me as one of her top weight loss tips. Basically you reduce your portion size to like a third or half your normal size, but instead of limiting yourself to three meals a day try eating five meals –breakfast, brunch, lunch, mid-day and dinner. The trick is reducing the portion sizes, if not you’ll end up eating too much.

Eat slowly – yes seriously. My dietician says each mouthful should be chewed for no less than 20 seconds, and to be sure to liquefy your food as much as possible before you swallow. I think I have this down to a science now – but rather than count 1, 2, 3… when eating (that’s just weird), I sing the birthday song. Yes! In my mind I sing ‘♪happy birthday to you….♪♪’. The song lasts about 15seconds at normal tempo but it’s better than counting. If what I am eating is not sufficiently pulverized, I sing the song twice. Hey! Give me a break…the doctor did say liquefy your food before you swallow after all! [shrug]

Drink your cup of water before you eat rather than while eating. I am not sure how it works but somehow it fills you up so you don’t over eat when you eat. Another tip is to drink a lot of water throughout the day – just sip…sip…sip. If you can add a slice of lemon to the water you are sipping all day all the better; it should help curb your appetite and keep you from over eating. I hear that the late Princess Diana made this a habit to help blast belly fat – and she drank a glass of lemon water first thing in the morning every day to control hunger pangs.

Shrink Your Portion sizes – if you are serious about committing to stopping overeating you will explore shrinking your portion sizes. What I did was shrink my portion size by a third. I did this in conjunction with eating less more often.

Veg Out! I mean nibble on veggies – carrots, cucumbers, apples (yes a fruit I know, but you know what I mean), cherry tomatoes etc. Get into the habit of having some pre-cut veggies [and fruit] in your fridge (a bowl of veggies taken to work every other day will not go amiss either).

Sweets make you crave more. By sweets I mean your sweet biscuits, snacks, sugared tea, candies etc. It’s just like your fizzy drinks – you have one and you will invariably want another…and another. Sweet makes you crave more sweets – that’s the vicious cycle you want to get off of. So if you can forgo the sweets entirely do that. If you have not [yet] schooled your taste buds and weaned yourself off sweets then I would advise looking for alternatives to your sweet of choice. Think honey, dried fruits and such. (I am thinking I will do a blog post soon on sweets and sweet additives, and sweetener alternatives).

The feeling after you have overeaten is BAD, and I would do much to forego such a sense of defeat, helplessness almost like I am trapped. That’s why I try to practice the tips I’ve shared above. They have helped me – not to say that I don’t still have moments of weakness when I have a binge-fest…but it’s no longer a daily occurrence.

Do you have any tips to help you not over eat? What do you do? What has helped you? I am eager to learn from you – please drop me a comment.

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