Dieting and Weight Loss - What Can I Do To Control My Weight?
People eat for a variety of reasons. Mainly, we eat to satisfy hunger. Our bodies have hormonal and chemical signals that control how much food we take in. To stay at a healthy weight, we need to recognize and respond to these cues of hunger and satiety (fullness).
Think of a hunger meter ranging in levels from 1 to 10. If 1 is very hungry and 10 is very full, aim for somewhere in between - satisfied. Generally, we need to eat every 3-5 hours to prevent our hunger from swinging too wildly away from this middle range.
The problem with dieting
One of the problems of today is being dissatisfied with how we look. Weight-loss dieting encourages us to ignore our hunger cues.
For example, if we don’t feed our bodies, hunger signals get stronger. It's hard to eat just enough food when hunger levels are high. Typically, we may eat more than we physically require when we get too hungry. If we do this often, we can gain weight. In other words, dieting can make people heavier.
Our actual healthy weight
Many factors affect our body weight. Our natural weight may also be a family characteristic. Healthy bodies come in many shapes and sizes. Yet, the media usually display only one unrealistic thin "ideal".
Many people are obsessed with achieving this "perfect" body. They may diet and exercise too much. This will not guarantee health, and it may even lead to an eating disorder.
If you are on the "diet rollercoaster," here are some ways you can leave it behind:
- Accept your body and challenge media norms for how we are supposed to look.
- Understand how emotions and feelings affect what, when, and how much you eat.
- Nurture yourself with a variety of healthful foods and with fun activities.
- Find a physical activity you enjoy.
Physical activity is always a good idea too. Just remember to be active for your mental and physical health – and not just to lose weight. Find activities that you can integrate into your daily routine like taking the stairs, parking further away from your destination, or start riding your bike to work. Activity for daily living is an important way to stay healthy.