While I can not wait for slightly warmer temperatures here in the Eastern US, I am not thrilled by the suffocating heat that invariably follows, bringing with it the necessity of sloughing off my forgiving winter clothing. Today I looked over a few of my cute summer tops and spied seemingly too tiny shorts. The sight made me decide to begin my yearly thin-up routine, starting yesterday...preferable sooner....like back before winter started (damn all those cookies!)
Here are a few, mainly pychological, tricks and tips that I use every year to make losing a few "winter cookie" pounds not so painful. Save for the excercise topic (that is totally not a psychological trick - though I wish it were), these tips never grates off more than a few pounds, but it's a start.
Size Matters
My first step in reverting my form's width to last summer's dimensions is to reset my mind to thinking "small is plenty enough." And no, I don't mean become small minded! Rather, I mean the size of my plate/bowl/cup and the utensiels I use to shovel into my face whatever yum upon which I will graze. I find that using a really cute, small plate and eating with a smaller fork (like a dessert fork) makes a difference in the amount of grub I inhale.
See, the very unscientific proof is that it tricks my mind into thinking "Wow! That plate sure is brimming with lots of fattening, calorie-ridden food. Are you sure you can consume all that? So you want to weigh a ton and a half? And how are you going to shovel all that in with that pathetic fork? A backhoe would be better, you know."
This trick works for me because it allows my nasty depricating side the joy of giving me a hard time while letting my tummy dread the all-you-can-eat-in-a-week-stuffed-into-a-day buffet feeling.
When Only Food Will Do
Eat less. Eat right.
Seems pretty self-explanatory, if not a bit daunting and misery-causing. I have found, though, applying the "size matters" idea helps with the portion problem. It can be a gradual process, but it should be a process nonetheless, meaning consciously deciding how much I will allow myself, not how much my eyes tell me I must absorb to get through the next three hours without expiring. Eventually my stomach gets a clue, shrinks up a bit and then I end up not as hungry as often or for as much.
As per the eating right, well that's a little harder. I am not a fan of "diets" because they carry too many yucky side-effects like the ability to sneak snacks behind my own back, the insatiable need to cheat (constantly) and, my favorite, garnering the honor of "angriest person on earth."
So, in true diet-hater mode, I stealthily amp up the amounts of the good stuff I consume and let it slowly cut back on the awesome stuff that loves to hang out at the "Thigh Bar" where it's Unhappy Hour every day! This trick lets me still eat what I love and feel full.
When the snack monster does come to attack me, as he always does early in this adjustment (he can smell my fear), I merely fend him off by stuffing my face full of foods that actually burn calories during nomming. Called negative calorie foods, these little buggers are great to bridge the gap between meals.
Water Weight
Whenever I am so hungry that I might very well kill the next person standing between me and the nearest candy bar, I take a deep breath and then chug some water. It is surprising how that can help curb the desire to nom, or at least stave it off for a little while.
This isn't a new idea. Type "water to lose weight" into google for ample articles touting the use of water to shed a few. It does make sense; it makes me feel fuller and thus not as prone to manic munching. Additionally, guzzling water like a camel can also help my skin and overall health. Bonus!
As a sidenote, a while ago I had read an interesting article that suggested that the same chemicals or whatnot that tell our brains we are hungry fire off even when we are in fact only thirsty. Thus, I'd like to personally blame the miscommunication and vague messages sent to my brain for my wintertime weight gain.
Speed/Attention
Slow down. Pull over. Pay Attention!
The traffic cop of my plan, by being more deliberate when I eat, I find I eat less and enjoy the object of my gastric delight even more. Otherwise, if I inhale and wolf down my grub, my tummy doesn't have time to react as it is smothered and buried under an avalanche of food.
In an attempt to force myself to slow down, I try to heat my food to volcanic levels whenever possible without melting the plate. A few good burns on the roof of my mouth usually dissuades me from flipping the vaccum to the "on" position. Nothing like a little negative reinforcement to make sure my brain gets the message!
Besides that, there is the idea of it takes a stomach like ten to twenty minutes to signal to the brain that it is full. Ten to twenty! Geez. All those lightning fast neurons and that swanky nervous system and my stomach needs twenty minutes to get a message to my head? Is it hand delivering it or what? Well, between miscommunication regarding hunger and thirst and the speed by which fullness is communicated, I am starting to think it's time my tummy entered the digital age and at least get DSL.
The Skinny Jeans Principle
Now while constant obessing over the weight I want to lose not only annoys and irritates the bejesus out of everyone around me, it also can be depressing for me. But I don't want to forget my resolution, so to keep myself on track, when I am home, I squish myself into the tinest pair of pants that I own and can still pour into.
Now, I might look like a "hoochie mamma" or whatever with my sexy sprayed on jeans, but my inability to breathe reminds me that I should rethink pinching that cookie....the one calling my name from the tin... right there on the counter... it's easily within reach.... and no one is looking... I want it....*tries to breath* Ugh. I don't need it.
See how that works?
Cook Less
This is something I had to really work at since I love to cook. If I cut back on the amount before preperation, like by halving recipes or cutting the meat I buy into smaller portions before freezing it, cutting back isn't so hard. I still get to make something delish, but just not as much. This give me more variety in my menu, less temptation to cheat and overeat and less waste, which is terrific on the wallet to boot.
Excercise
Ok, I have to add this because no discussion about weight is ever complete without at least saying the word "excercise." *rolls eyes*
I am never quite as good at this portion of my plan as I intend to be. I squish in maybe an embarrassing five-ten minutes of cardio a week on an elliptical, but I'm trying! It's a little easier for me to do my sit-ups and weights, but I still find the easiest way to excercise is to do it unconsciously. Like dancing - I mean *really* dancing.
I find that dancing to a super-mega-uber-long-extended-cut-remix of any original 12 minute single usually does the trick. A few good tunes to try would be those marathon salsa numbers designed to require hip surgery afterwards or glo-stick spawning club remixes of a current dance tunes. A love ballad by any of the soppier, vacuous singers out there is not suggested....for any reason....at any time. Just saying.
In the Summer, though, yardwork tends to make the need for "extra" excercise moot since I am kicking my own butt out there making a big mess out of my yard in a flurry of shovels, mulch and rakes.
Weigh In Obsessively
This trick may not work for everyone, but for me it is a great indicator not only of how I am doing, but works in tandem with the "hop off the wagon" idea. I start to weigh myself at the same time everyday. It is better to do it nakie, but when I stomp on the scale fully clothed, it is nice to soothe my down-trodden ego to tell my more weight-sensitive self that "well those are pretty bulky jeans, you know."
As promised, this brings me to my favorite part of my mental regimine for a lighter self!
Hop Off the Wagon
Ah, bliss. I've weighed myself and see that I am less today than yesterday (fine, it's only by a pound and it might have been just water weight I lost blah blah...*smothers reason*).
*ahem* Conclusion? Treat myself to something decadent that goes above and beyond my rules. The portion idea still applies as does "size matters" etc, but it will be something out of the ordinary that I will enjoy, slowly.
I also loosen up the reins on weekends or on outings - I still try to apply the basic tennents of my plan, but if I've been awesome all week and the scale bears that out, then I shall nom carefree at least one day of the week. The best part of this plan is that if applied regularly, the plan makes my tummy so much smaller that even when I allow myself to splurge, I won't be prone to eat as much anyways!
So that's a few of the tips I use to shed the extra insulation I've built up with "love" this winter. If anyone out there has tips they'd like to share, please post them in the comments. I love to add more to my arsenal!
RESOURCES
wikihow - more "nomming less" tips
new york times - water to lose weight
