My Free Weight Loss Program - Am I Really Hungry?

As part of my free weight loss program, I am going over the tips and tricks I used to use to get slim and stay slim. One thing which has always worked for me in the past is, when I get the urge to eat something, I ask myself, "Am I really hungry?"

Sounds simple, I know and anyone who has a rumbling tummy just thinking about high calorie food will know this trick isn't always quick to achieve or easy, but it does work as part of a healthy eating diet plan. Now is the time for me to get into this mindset again as part of my weight loss program, because right now I need to shift some excess fat!

This is how it works for me:

For instance, when I have been slogging away at the pc for hours, I often think, "I must have something to eat right now." But sitting around for hours, however hard you work, isn't using that many calories and snacking will make you put on excess pounds, so what do I do when I am being good about maintaining my weight and keeping a slim figure?

I ask myself whether I am hungry, or is it something else I need right now? Because, if I get the answer wrong, I am not going to lose weight, or, if I am already slim, I could put on pounds.

So I ask myself whether I am simply tired. Perhaps I need to relax for a while. Or perhaps I need to take a walk and get some fresh air. It would certainly be more healthy to do this and, if it's sunny, the vitamin D would be good for my bones and I would be exercising and burning up a few extra calories too.

So, in order to lose this excess weight, I really need to start thinking like this again, or else I will never get back to my slim former self.

The only problem I have found with always stopping to ask yourself whether you really need that high calorie snack, or even that healthy meal, right now, is that you have to fit in with other people's plans. Not always easy, but fitting in with them without taking care of your own dieting needs is likely to make you fat, so you have to find a program which works its way around this.

What I have done in the past and will do again is this:

If I have an appointment to meet someone for a meal, I can hardly say "Sorry, could you wait until later in the day as I am not hungry right now and I'm watching my weight," can I?

So I find ways around this. First, if this is planned in advance I try not to eat for a few hours before. Second, I order the healthy diet meal. I may not like it, but, with this program, I don't intend to eat it all anyway. Then, I eat real slow and try to savor every mouthful. It's surprising how soon your stomach feels full when you eat slow. I bet you could even get away with eating high calorie meals and not putting on weight if you ate them slow enough, because you would never finish them, but if you want to lose weight, that is not such a great idea.

There is a trick to eating slow which works well as part of a free weightloss program. This is how to do it:

Get involved in the conversation and put down your knife and fork while you are talking.

Take one mouthful and really savor it. Put down your knife and fork while you are eating this mouthful. Do not get the next bite ready; have this one first.

It works, I promise. And, if you have chosen the low calorie healthy option, you will lose weight with this method yet your tummy will still feel satisfied. It takes a bit of practice, but so does any weight loss program, and this tip is for free, so that can't be bad.

Now, of course, I have to practice what I preach and get back on the diet and exercise plan, but there are a lot worse ways than this for losing excess pounds and keeping them off.

And at the end of all this I will be back to my former slim self, which again, can't be bad.

Okay, so I have found two things so far which have always been part of a diet and weight loss program for me until recently. All I need now is the motivation to carry them out.

So wish me luck! :)