Changes for Weight Loss

Reducing portions and slowing down your eating are probably the two food habits that will have the quickest impact on your weight loss. If you're going to skip meals now and then, make sure they are dinners. Going to bed hungry is much better than trying to work and play hungry.

Tip: I wouldn't suggest full fasting unless you really know what you're doing. It's risky, and also extremely different from your regular life, so odds are that any pounds you lose won't stay gone.

Cutting out certain foods will accelerate your weight loss, but take it easy. If you cut out too many foods at once, your body will panic and hold onto its fat with a vengeance. Habits are not all in your mind, they are also physical. My recommendation is that you make the easiest cuts first, that is, what is easiest for you. You might think of additional or different foods to cut out, but don't be too Draconian. This is not about punishing yourself with extreme deprivation. This is about doing without some of the high-calorie food while you lose weight. If you don't know anything about calories, refer to Food Journal and Calories.

1. Cut out soft drinks.
2. Cut out candy.
3. Cut out fast food.
4. Cut out high-calorie coffee.
5. Cut out dairy products.
6. Cut out chips and crackers.
7. Cut out bread.
8. Cut out potatoes.
9. Cut out boxed or frozen meals.
10. Cut out pastry.
11. Cut out alcohol.

This list might be startling at first. It could seem like you are cutting out your entire diet. If that's true, then you seriously need some different eating habits. But for most of us, it's not true. Instead of whining about the food you should cut out for a weight-loss diet, notice what foods are left, such as eggs, juice, nuts, cereal, soup, fruits, meat, vegetables. The list above just contains the highest-calorie, least nutritious foods that occurred to me. If you find yourself angrily defending any of these foods, you are probably too dependent on them, or you sell them for a living. Think about it.

When you start cutting out foods, be sure to compensate for any nutritional loss either with vitamins or other foods that provide the nutrients. For example, if you cut out dairy products, here are some foods that provide plenty of calcium: broccoli, salmon, figs, oats, leafy green vegetables, sesame seeds, tofu, molasses.

If you are besieged by compulsions for any of the food you have cut out, here are some substitutes for getting through your cravings:

• Soft drinks---flavored sparkling water, watered-down juice
• Fast food---pizza is generally the healthiest fast food
• Bread---whole wheat bread
• Chips and crackers---popcorn, almonds, raw carrots
• Dairy products---low-fat milk, cottage cheese
• Potatoes---sweet potatoes
• Boxed or frozen meals---a fresh sandwich
• Sweets---dark chocolate, dried cranberries, gum
• Pasta---eggplant, portobello mushroom
• Alcohol---not sure

When your weight-loss diet is over, think carefully before reinstating the calorie-laden foods in your regular diet. Gaining back the weight you lost is beyond horrible.

Alcohol
Alcohol is in a league of its own. It’s not exactly food, but it has calories. I can’t prove it, but I think alcohol makes calories from actual food stick to me. This sounds ridiculous, I know, but it might be true. When I decided not to have liquids with my meals (they dilute digestive juices), I stopped all drinking associated with food, including alcohol. When I had a beer or glass of wine anyway, I noticed the food I wanted to eat with it—pizza, ribs, chips, Italian, even chocolate.  Hmm.