Want to loose weight? Don't diet, THINK

My personal philosophy: Don’t diet – THINK (and eat like someone who loves himself)

With that in mind I lean toward agreeing with the sceptics questioning whether this product really works or whether it merely messes with your mind, motivating the action of eating less and causing the consequent weight loss.

Hunger is controlled by the brain, not the stomach. SENSA is designed to activate the hormones that trigger the sense of fullness. That way you feel full sooner resulting in your eating less and consequently losing weight.

It is not a pill or a diet. SENSA is a fine, tasteless crystal substance like salt that is sprinkled on everything you eat. Each shaker has a lid for sweet and savoury and the program consists of 6 different shakers – one each month. The fine print recommends that you stick to a sensible diet and regular exercise, but the main attraction is that you eat what you want and still lose weight.

Whether it works or not, I have learned a few things about keeping in shape and today I’m sharing a few of them. Interestingly enough a lot of it is how you think and the big D-word of course: DISCIPLINE.

1. Keeping in shape is a lifestyle. It is not a special occasion. It affects how you plan your time, your money and your energy.

2. Eat breakfast. Breakfast wakes up your metabolism and provides you with much needed energy to get you going with your day. Once it gets to work it digests much more effective throughout the day as you eat causing more of what you eat to be consumed as energy as and when you need it. Energy that pitches when the party is already over gets stored as fat and the address forgotten.

3. A healthy metabolism will cause you to feel hungry more often – watch what you snack on – chips/crisps, sweets and chocolates, junk food, etc won’t do. Find healthy snacks that tastes good, e.g. yoghurt, fruit, provitas with cheese, raw vegetables with dip, etc. The more you snack what is good for you, the more you will like it, the more you will prefer it, instead of feeling obligated.

4. Drink lots of water. People often eat because they think they’re hungry when, in fact, they are dehydrated – thirsty. Drinking lots of water is not just good to keep you hydrated, but it also fills your stomach, leaving less room for eating just for the sake of it. NOTE: Not just any liquids qualify as “8 glasses of water a day”. Drinks such as coffee, tea with caffeine and carbonated drinks might be liquid, but it Dehydrates your body, plus it contains excessive refined sugars not ideal for weight control. In my experience I found that once I’ve drank my quota water for the day I simply don’t have room for tea, coffee, etc. Not a bad thing, I think.

5. Limit your red meat intake to roughly 3 times a week and increase your eating fish, chicken or pork instead. If you don’t like it too much, find a recipe that you DO like and get to like it.

6. Keep a watchful eye on how you prepare your food. Watch the amount of oil and butter – too much grease is not good for you. And if you had to close your eyes and bite on a carrot, does it still taste like a carrot, or has it been reduced to a mouth full of orange mush? If you can’t identify it, it is a good indication that you’ve lost all the nutrients. In this way steaming or grilling veggies is a healthy idea.

7. So what if you are used to eating large portions? Be clever – use a small plate instead of a regular dinner size plate. That way you don’t have a plate with less food on, and it seeming empty. Neither will you have to push your plate away with food still on it. Your mind will see a full plate, but in fact you would have eaten less than usual. Mission accomplished.

8. Eat slower. It takes time for your brain to receive the message from your stomach that it is full. If you eat fast, you will often find that your brain recognized it only once you’ve already had too much, leaving you feeling stuffed and uncomfortable. Eating slower allows for your brain to receive the message before you’ve had too much. This way you don’t have to deny yourself food while still feeling hungry. Having had your fill you won’t want to continue stuffing your face.

Combine all this with some exercise of course. Just 30 min, 3 – 4 times a week will already make a difference. It doesn’t have to be 4 MILES. The secret is to enjoy it. I like to ride my bike and enjoy walking. I love looking at people’s gardens and listening to the birds chirp and I love sunsets. So while I’m out enjoying all of these, I’m exercising almost without exercising. The moment I feel more obligation than enjoyment, I focus everything on getting back to ENJOYING it. It doesn’t have to be punishment. You can even do it with your family – quality time and doing something together, maybe even teaching your child a love for it – gives you time to talk with each other too without tv, computer (games), noisy malls / shops, etc. Find ways to make it fun for yourself so that it is not punishment.

One last note: research shows that habits are formed by repeating behaviour for 21 consecutive days. So if you do the same thing for 21 days you would have formed a new habit. The crucial time is those 21 days; not 6 months. Less overwhelming that way, huh? I know everyone is different, but I love ticking off a list. So when it has been really hard for me to do something (or NOT do), I would make a little calender for myself and cross off every day I’ve been successful. There had been days that I would do (or not do) just so that I could tick that little box. Sounds ridiculous, but it got me to where I needed to be. What motivates you? Use it to your advantage.

In the process I’m saving all the money I would have had to spend on SENSA...

Don’t diet – THINK!