Last night, I was watching “I Can Make You Thin” with Paul McKenna on TLC. It is a new series that promotes a “non-dieting” approach to weight loss. I feel that it may be unrealistic to expect that most people who watch the show will be able to achieve an ideal body weight after just five episodes. However, I do feel that he made some very good points during the show. One of the main points he made was to listen to your body’s hunger cues. A lot of food that we eat throughout the day is not because of hunger; it might be because of habit, to reward ourselves, because were bored, happy, sad, lonely…well, you get the point. By really listening to our body’s hunger cues, we can cut out a lot of the inappropriate eating that we do. Take a look at this hunger scale for more details.
Another good point McKenna made is that our brains can’t distinguish between thirst and hunger. Most of the time when you think you are hungry, you are actually thirsty. So, before you reach for a bag of chips, drink a glass of water. Wait about 5 to 10 minutes and then determine if you are still hungry. If you are, then eat something. If not, then you’ve just won a little battle in the weight-loss war.