Is it really possible to find such a cure? To keep your weight from going up and down more often than a department store elevator? And, even better, so that the number on your scales is constantly decreasing, instead of increasing?
He was the entertainer Liberace, known for his intermittent diets, who once said: “I have clothes in three sizes: thin, fat and impossible!’
If you know how you felt, take heart because there is a way to stop swinging weight gain. It’s simple, it’s long-lasting, it doesn’t involve dieting, and anyone can do it. Wow! Sounds good, right?
The problem with human beings is that we enjoy eating. We enjoyed it very much. In the developed world, eating has gone from simply fueling our bodies to keep it going, to a national pastime: a pleasure rather than a necessity. We are not like a python that can swallow an antelope whole and then go without food for a year. We need regular nutritious food.
Unfortunately for our waistlines we love the taste of many foods that are not so healthy when eaten in large quantities. We seem intent on stuffing ourselves as much as we can at each meal, trying to overcome the eternal dilemma of two hands but one mouth. There’s an old saying that ‘a little of what you fancy does you good’, but sometimes we forget the ‘little’ part!
The human stomach is effectively a bag and has a capacity of just under a liter. Is not that much? Obese people tend to have larger stomachs, possibly because they get more full and then the ‘bag’ stretches out!
So a full stomach can weigh about 1 kg. By contrast, the human head weighs between 3.6 and 5.4 kg; perhaps that’s why the caption to Kliban’s 1976 cartoon read “never eat anything bigger than your head”, while Miss Piggy declared that “you should never eat anything you can’t lift” or “never eat more than you can.” lift.” Portion sizes matter!
However, you can eat all the foods you love and still lose weight. The key is moderation. A healthy, balanced diet with plenty of variety, rather than ‘dieting’. The problem with “going” on a diet is that, at some point, you will “go off” the diet, but that’s another article.
Yes, you can have fish and chips, but not every night. And if you cook them yourself you could save over 400 calories and up to 45g of fat! Swapping out the healthier versions of your favorites for the whole varieties can add up to big calorie savings and you won’t feel deprived. No one will know your secret, they will only admire the new you!
