By Chere Bork

You call it dieting and your body calls it starving. When you go on a diet your body doesn’t know that you are trying to squeeze into your favorite pair of shorts from last summer or protect you from death from starvation. So your body reacts the only way it knows how; it hoards the calories you give it.  

If you are a chronic dieter who has been starving, you have a tendency to eat excessive amounts after you are “allowed” to eat; you  have trouble concentrating and you Obsess (with a capitol O) about food and eating. 

How do you know if you are dieting too much? Do you freak out if your scale shows an extra 5 pounds? You are diet obsessed. Dieting be done. Music to my ears is when my clients say, “I feel like I am eating all the time and I am losing weight.”

Here are five tips to get your body bathing suit ready:

1. Eat breakfast. Eat breakfast. Eat breakfast. It gets your metabolism going. Your body is like a furnace. Breakfast starts your body working on your behalf burning calories. When you don’t eat breakfast studies have shown you have more episodes of eating. People eat due to the increased number of times they expose themselves to food.  Who eats breakfast? The National Weight Control Registry of 3,000 people who have lost 60 pounds and kept it off for six years eat breakfast. 

I think eating a few slices of whole grain toast with peanut butter is easier than doing a cardio workout.  Get going. You have heard this for years. Just do it! FYI, always include some protein. 

2. Eat vegetarian once a week. Once a week eat a plant-based evening meal. If you do this for one year, you will save 10,000 calories, which is the equivalent of a 3-pound weight loss. Need ideas?  White bean chili, portabella mushroom burger, tacos or your favorite casserole made with meatless ground crumbles (I like the Boca brand – found in the vegetarian freezer section) navy bean or split pea soup, black bean burritos. Last week I cooked spaghetti for Danielle and Gary with mushrooms and lots of grated carrots and no one noticed the “missing meat.”  

3. Eat fruits and veggies daily. Fill up not out with high fiber fruits and veggies. You know they are good for you.  It is a lot easier than you think. The secret? You have to buy them. Sunday night have fruit in the house for your snacks and veggies in the house for your meals.  Fresh is great but don’t forget about frozen, canned and dried. The only food on your kitchen counter should be your bowl of fruit. Remember we eat with our eyes! What do your eyes see to eat in your kitchen? 

4. Eat regularly. Research has shown that people who snack are less likely to overeat than people who restrict their calories. Eating three meals a day with two or three snacks is optimal and eating every three to four hours. Your body will absorb the nutrients better when you eat on this schedule than the feast for one day and starve for the next three.  I count a meal as three food groups and 400 to 600 calories and a snack is one to two food groups with about 200 calories.  Female adults can lose weight on 1500 calories and males on 2000 calories a day. Female plan – eat three 400 calorie meals with two 200 calorie snacks. Male plan – eat three 600 calorie meals and two 200 calorie snacks. Don’t wig about the numbers just start eating healthy snacks.  

5. Focus on fiber. The word “diet” can mean “Dare I Eat That” or “Discovering Intelligent Eating Techniques.”   Fiber is the best kept intelligent eating secret. Fiber fills you up and so you are satisfied with fewer calories. It is easier than you think. Start the day with a high fiber cereal (8 grams). Eat an apple or pear for a snack.  (4 grams), Order a whole grain sandwich for lunch (8 grams). Eat some hummus with whole wheat crackers  (6 grams). Have 1 cup of broccoli for dinner (6 grams). You are at a whooping 32 grams. Shoot for 25 grams a day. Easy as pie!  As a wellness coach I frequently hear, “I don’t have the time to eat healthy.” You have the power to make time not find time to eat more to weigh less.  Honestly, you don’t have the time not to.  If you don’t take time for wellness today you will have to take time for illness tomorrow. We all get 168 hours in a week; only you can decide how to spend it.  By the way, health is hope and hope is everything.

  Chere Bork is a health and life balance enthusiast, national speaker and Wellcoach™ from Eden Prairie, who helps people, discover their purpose to live happily and healthfully ever after. Her Web site is www.cherebork.com