Double Your Weight Loss
Anyone who has ever been overweight is also looking for information on how to lose weight. A study in the United Stated published by the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, found that by writing down what you eat every day can double your weight loss. The lead author in this study (Jack Hollis) surmised that the reason for the higher weight loss is that the simple act of writing down what you eat encouraged people to consume less. If you are on a restricted diet already, then consuming less is not ideal.
An article in the Science Diary suggests several ways to keep track of what you eat, such as scribbling on a post-it or sending yourself an email or text message. This makes us aware of our habits and could help us recognize bad habits, and change our behavior, making better choices.
A South African brain surgeon found that this technique helped him to lose (and keep off) 70 kgs on his own weight loss journey. Some of the lessons that he learned on his journey resonate with me, because my wife and I came to the same realization on our journey (I lost 82 kgs in 12 months and my wife lost 35 kgs in 6 months).
Like Dr Liebenberg, my wife and I tried every ‘trick’, diet, machine or pill to lose weight, hoping that losing weight didn’t mean you have to follow a diet limited to healthy food.
Our mind was the biggest enemy in losing weight. People like me who become overweight often do so because they love to eat. I love to ‘eat out’ and cook in, but my choices used to be mostly unhealthy ones. We, humans, crave variety and when we are restricted, we rebel! See how our mind can derail us (not our bodies)!
I believe that the reason that I was so successful on my weight loss journey is that I had finally found a healthy alternative that was designed to work for my body (based on a medical analysis of my blood gas chemistry). Because I had a lot of weight to lose, my journey was also a long one, so I had time to practice my new healthy choices and these have become habits.
My weight loss program also includes a recipe book that I still use today and the food choices are so varied that I don’t feel the need to deviate. So my mind is getting the variety it craves and my body is getting the healthy food that it wants.
