Michelle

Right on the heels of an awesome myth-debunking anti-detox rant by Warren, let’s talk about a magic secret to losing weight. Magic? Well, not really. But people ask me in a conspiratorial way (think breathy whisper, like they’re looking for a special magic incantation) that I can share with them and {POOF} weight gone.

The biggest change I made was adding a healthy breakfast. That’s right, I started by eating more frequently. Jumpstarting my metabolism and all that. I found eating breakfast at first made me a bit nauseous, but eventually my body adapted and I feel it if I miss it. It was true for me and studies have shown that overweight people eat fewer meals than people with healthy weight. With a healthy balanced breakfast in me, my lunches were more reasonably portioned and often healthier.

Then I ejected the daily store-bought dessert. I decided that dessert had to be worth it; it had to be delicious, preferably homemade and a reasonable size (usually shared). Whenever I eat dessert now, if it’s not stellar, I won’t eat it because it’s not worth the calories. Did you get that?  I still eat dessert. It’s just not every day and it’s well worth it when I do. Magic word: reasonable.

Then, because I was exercising, I added more food! I added two healthy snacks: one between breakfast and lunch and one between lunch and dinner. Magic word: healthy. I no longer reached mealtime with a huge appetite where I felt completely out of control or justified in eating like a ravenous beast who barely chews its food. It also meant my energy was more balanced throughout the day.

Despite the fact that I was eating more frequently, I was actually eating fewer and healthier calories than I used to and I didn’t have the sugar highs and lows. I was now fueling my body steadily throughout the day with healthy food. Magic word: fuel. Do you remember Jenn talking about food as fuel? It’s not life itself, it’s fuel to help us live.  That perspective is important.

So I made changes in the way I ate – one step at a time, one thing at a time – and for the rest of my life. Magic word: forever. Eventually these became my new norm. It wasn’t some magic potion or incantation that took 65 lbs off my body. No abracadabra. No weird special diet with “fat burning, calorie zapping, metabolic burning” super foods. Just healthier ways of eating, healthier food choices and a more balanced way of looking at food in my life. So the magic incantation is “reasonable, healthy fuel forever”.