Sensible
Weight Loss Tips from Cal-a-Vie Spa
There are
no quick fixes, nor magic potions for weight loss. Despite the popularity
of diet drugs and fad diets - there simply are no free lunches. Almost all
of the people who lose weight with extreme dieting, 97% of them in fact,
gain all the weight back and then some. The only way to lose weight and
keep it off, is to learn healthy ways of eating and exercising for a
lifetime.
While
overweight is generally due to a combination of physical inactivity and
calorie overload - still there are complicated emotional and spiritual
factors involved. Food is definitely tied to emotions - either for
celebration or as a salve for distress. For a comprehensive approach to
this complicated issue we encourage Cal-a-Vie’s
guests to observe the following rules:
§
Eat only when hungry, not when tired. Rest when tired.
§
When stressed, engage in some physical activity. Then sit and
practice deep breathing and meditation rather than eat. This will relax
your nervous system, and you will be less likely to eat compulsively.
§
When hunger strikes, try drinking several glasses of pure water.
The water will take the edge off the hunger and will help the digestive
process. Exercise for 10
minutes, either walking or doing yoga or the like to stimulate metabolism,
then eat.
§
Before you eat, take a few deep breaths. Without oxygen we cannot
metabolize our food. Consider deep breathing the first course. Acknowledge
that you will eat slowly, chew thoroughly, enjoy your food completely and
digest and assimilate it efficiently, because you are eating with
awareness.
§
Portion control is important. Know how much you are really eating
then alter accordingly. Fill up on high-bulk, low-calorie foods such as
large salads with light dressings, lots of vegetables with every meal or
snack and choose fruit to satisfy your sweet tooth. Cut fatty junk foods,
making sure to get some of the essential fats daily by eating cold water
fish (salmon, trout, tuna), or flaxseed, walnuts or soy. Choose whole,
unrefined foods such as brown rice, whole wheat and beans as a source of
wholesome carbohydrates (but stick with small servings of these calorie
dense foods). Choose lean proteins such as skinless chicken, turkey or
seafood.
§
Keep a food diary of all that you eat and when. Look for patterns.
Do you tend to overeat when tired, stressed, lonely or bored?
§
Eat less. Stop when the hunger goes away - not when you are full.
Affirm that you eat to live, not live to eat.
§
Routine physical exercise and spiritual practice such as regular
meditation helps to balance stress, self-esteem and oral gratification
issues in a healthy way.
§
Keeping weight down is one way to take good care of your self. Ask
this question: “How will my weight loss regimen make me a more balanced
and integrated person?”
§
Reward yourself with non-food treats such as a new outfit, a facial
or a massage to keep you motivated to reach your weight loss goal.
§
Work toward health and wellness rather than weight loss. It is far
better to be fit and overweight than fat and sedentary.
Spend more time working with your inner being rather than your
outer shell. Too many people in our culture are obsessed with looks,
completely steeped in body consciousness. The world doesn’t need more
skinny people, it needs more happy, healthy and loving people. Try loving
the essential you first - no matter what your size or shape.
This will make your outer transformation that much easier and far
more lasting.
Prepared
by Yvonne Nienstadt, Director of Health and Nutrition
Copyright Cal-a-Vie Spa 1999
reprinted with permission
