The science of getting thin(ner)
Jan. 13th, 2006 12:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
azekeilI don't know how many of you will know, but I have slowly been putting on weight since adolescence (and I don't just mean weight through height). I have been becoming unpleasently overweight over the last year or so, and getting depressed about it as well.
The other day I saw an advert for a programme by Paul McKenna: I can make you thin. I haven't tried diets because I understand science and it comes down to calorie intake. I also understand that a diet that is non-maintainable is worse than useless as well.
So, what I was looking for, without really realising it up until now, was a way to tackle the psychological issues surrounding food, rather than attempting to directly modify what I actually take in.
What Paul McKenna is saying actually made a load of sense, and also links in with 'good table manners'. If only people explained the reasoning behind good table manners, I would have been a lot more careful to make sure I stick to them ;)
Anyway, the crux of it is that the body is very good at regulating itself. Fat people have learned to override that with the seratonin rush that comes from eating food, and hence ignore it. Being very hungry is bad: it puts your body in starvation mode and it stores fat from what you eat rather than use it as energy. Being overfull is not good either as this simply means you've eaten more than you needed to: ie. you're going to get fatter. Additionally, learning to recognise the growing feeling of physical hunger vs. the emotional 'sudden craving' for something. 75% of the time you think you're hungry, you're just dehydrated. Drink a glass of water.
So, Paul's solution: Eat consciously. Eat when you're hungry, not otherwise. Make sure you think about everything you put in your mouth. Concentrate on just eating - no reading or watching television while you eat. Eat what you feel like, but eat slowly - your food will go cold if you do this properly. Chew your food properly - at least 20 chews for each mouthful. Put your cutlery down between each bite. Consciously leave something on your plate at the end of every meal, to undo the conditioning that you must finish your plate. STOP when you've had enough.
Additional positive psychology to reinforce this, such as practising eating slowly and putting down cutlery is useful (even if it does make you feel stupid). Also, imagining what it would be like to be thinner and thinner, thinking how you'll look, how it will feel, makes a plan in your head.
Don't give up if you slip up.
It's all obvious stuff, but having it put together and explained in a coherent manner just makes sense.
So far, this morning, I have had a bowl of cereal which I didn't have time to take slowly unfortunately. But at lunch I ate my food slowly, and threw about half of it away, much to my surprise. I'm drinking water. I will have a bag of crisps (remember, eat what you like) later on if I get hungry, but I will think about each mouthful and stop if I don't need to eat it.
There are two more episodes in the series, about dealing with cravings and other bits and pieces, but I think the core of the message is here. It's what thin people do - indeed, a lot of the things have been said by a thin person quite close to me ;)
The other day I saw an advert for a programme by Paul McKenna: I can make you thin. I haven't tried diets because I understand science and it comes down to calorie intake. I also understand that a diet that is non-maintainable is worse than useless as well.
So, what I was looking for, without really realising it up until now, was a way to tackle the psychological issues surrounding food, rather than attempting to directly modify what I actually take in.
What Paul McKenna is saying actually made a load of sense, and also links in with 'good table manners'. If only people explained the reasoning behind good table manners, I would have been a lot more careful to make sure I stick to them ;)
Anyway, the crux of it is that the body is very good at regulating itself. Fat people have learned to override that with the seratonin rush that comes from eating food, and hence ignore it. Being very hungry is bad: it puts your body in starvation mode and it stores fat from what you eat rather than use it as energy. Being overfull is not good either as this simply means you've eaten more than you needed to: ie. you're going to get fatter. Additionally, learning to recognise the growing feeling of physical hunger vs. the emotional 'sudden craving' for something. 75% of the time you think you're hungry, you're just dehydrated. Drink a glass of water.
So, Paul's solution: Eat consciously. Eat when you're hungry, not otherwise. Make sure you think about everything you put in your mouth. Concentrate on just eating - no reading or watching television while you eat. Eat what you feel like, but eat slowly - your food will go cold if you do this properly. Chew your food properly - at least 20 chews for each mouthful. Put your cutlery down between each bite. Consciously leave something on your plate at the end of every meal, to undo the conditioning that you must finish your plate. STOP when you've had enough.
Additional positive psychology to reinforce this, such as practising eating slowly and putting down cutlery is useful (even if it does make you feel stupid). Also, imagining what it would be like to be thinner and thinner, thinking how you'll look, how it will feel, makes a plan in your head.
Don't give up if you slip up.
It's all obvious stuff, but having it put together and explained in a coherent manner just makes sense.
So far, this morning, I have had a bowl of cereal which I didn't have time to take slowly unfortunately. But at lunch I ate my food slowly, and threw about half of it away, much to my surprise. I'm drinking water. I will have a bag of crisps (remember, eat what you like) later on if I get hungry, but I will think about each mouthful and stop if I don't need to eat it.
There are two more episodes in the series, about dealing with cravings and other bits and pieces, but I think the core of the message is here. It's what thin people do - indeed, a lot of the things have been said by a thin person quite close to me ;)
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no subject
Date: 2006-01-13 01:20 pm (UTC)I'll do this (to an extent) along with you if you need support, I know how unhappy this all makes you and it's not like it wouldn't make me happier to lose weight. ;)
It's funny how it all ties in with stuff we're taught as children, but nobody tells us why. But yes, it's also nothing that a certain thin person close to us hasn't been saying all along, and nothing that we didn't already know but hadn't thought to actually implement.
no subject
Date: 2006-01-13 01:25 pm (UTC)Perhaps then, with some decent shoes and our improved stamina, I might like to do more of the things you've been wanting me to do with you :) *kiss*
no subject
Date: 2006-01-13 01:32 pm (UTC)I shall also try to do more 'high tea' type things at weekends (when we've already had a cooked meal at lunch time) so that you can serve yourself as you eat. Portion sizes should also be much smaller for cooked food, and yes, leave at least a little of it on the plate. *Kiss*
*Wants to be helpful and also wants to lose weight*
no subject
Date: 2006-01-13 01:39 pm (UTC)But Marcruss is still so much fun!!! :D
Portion sizes should also be much smaller for cooked food
Not necessarily, we rarely bother to do BIG meals, we usually have 'enough'. But stuff that is small and can be eaten at will easily is good, which is why when I shop for myself, I always get things like pot noodles, packs of crisps, bread for sandwiches, savoury snacks. My meals also tend to be things that can be prepared very quickly, so that I really can 'eat when hungry'. (Beans on toast ++ *grin*)
no subject
Date: 2006-01-13 01:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-01-13 01:45 pm (UTC)But you do need to get some walking boots too, you really don't have anything suitable for lots of walking. Especially if you count the possibility of mud/water.
New rocks are not hiking boots. ;)