Last week I had a new client whose first question before signing up was "Will I still be able to enjoy a glass of wine?" Absolutely. It is really important to create an individualised health eating weight loss (and then weight management) life changing style that will be sustainable for the rest of your life. If you want a glass of wine several nights a week then your individualised new life style will need to include this requirement.
When we tell ourselves that we will have to go without something our unconscious brain, which is about 90 - 95% of our brain, goes into survival mode. Despite being surrounded by food our brain believes that we are entering into a period of famine. It then makes the necessary survival strategies so that you make it through the famine. It does this by slowing down our metabolism so that we conserve our fat stores, and it also converts more eaten food into fat because it knows that there is a famine so it makes the most of what it can when it can. What does this mean for you when you give up eating your favourite food? It means that whilst you may be doing without something that brings you satisfaction all the other food you are eating is helping you to gain weight. More than this, after the age of 40 eating less causes weight gain in the long-term.
What is the answer? To have an eating plan that includes your favourite food/s so that your body doesn't go into survival mode. This does not mean that you can continue to eat large portions of all your favourite foods every day and it does mean that you can include them in your weekly eating plan in small amounts.
The outcome of this is that you will actually enjoy these foods even more than you used to because they aren't taken for granted, so you savour every mouthful without experiencing guilt, just pleasure. The pleasure tells your brain that you aren't in the middle of a famine and that there is plentiful amounts of food so it switches off the famine switch.
As for that glass of wine, it is best if it is a red wine or a dry white wine rather than a sweet white wine. Red wine has been shown to have some health properties providing it is only one or two glasses a few nights a week and the sugar in it has been converted during the wine making process so that it is no longer fructose. If you prefer a spirit then have it with soda water instead of a mixer which will have sugar or sweetener in it. Savour and enjoy each mouthful and enjoy the entire experience.
Please post your weight loss/management questions in the comment box below.
love
Sarah
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