How to Lose Weight
Probably the biggest health problem the United States faces today is excess weight, because it contributes to so many other health problems. People not only want to lose weight, not only for their health, but also for their appearance. Despite this desire, most attempts at losing weight are failures. The problem is not that losing weight is impossible for all except a few. The problem is that many approaches to losing weight ignore the most important factor, our inborn mechanism for controlling weight, out hunger drive. Any approach to dieting that ignores our hunger drive will fail over the long term, except for a special few. People will simply not keep to a diet that leaves them hungry. And the most common approach to dieting, counting calories and macros, ignores hunger.
If our hunger drive is meant to control our weight, it seems to be doing a terrible job. What has gone wrong? Two things. First, we ignore our hunger drive and eat when we are not hungry. Second, we are living in an unnatural food environment, where the foods available to us are different than the foods that have been available through much of human existence. I will discuss both in turn.
The first problem is that we have forgotten the meaning of the word gluttony. Gluttony is eating for the sake of pleasure, rather than hunger. Please do not misunderstand. We should enjoy the food we eat. But we should not eat for the sake of enjoyment. When we eat for the sake of enjoyment we ignore our hunger drive. And that means it cannot control the amount of food we eat. If you have a quart of ice cream, your hunger may be satisfied after the first cup. But likely you will continue eating for the sake of pleasure, until the whole quart is gone. There are many times when we eat despite the fact we are not hungry. During social engagements, when snacking during other activities and the like. The first rule of losing weight is to not eat unless you are hungry. Have regular meal times and gauge the amount that you eat at each meal so that you are hungry, but not starving when it is time for the next meal. Do not snack unless you misjudged and did not eat enough at the previous meal. Treat social occasions like any other meal. If they are between meals and you are not hungry, eat as little as is polite.
The other side of this problem is foods with which we have an addictive relation. These are foods we will eat regardless of whether we are hungry or not and will continue eating even when we are no longer hungry. Everybody has different foods to which they are addicted. You need to develop the self-awareness to recognize them. Typically these are foods that are salty, sweet, or fatty or more likely, some combination of the three. Examples are ice cream (sweet and fatty), bacon (salty and fatty), and chips (salty and fatty). The only solution to addictive foods is to just say no. You need to eliminate the addictive food entirely, get it out of your house, and make it as difficult as possible to get. It is much easier to not eat a candy bar than to eat half a candy bar. Moderation does not work when it comes to addiction. With time, addictions fade. Your tastes and wishes are not set in stone, they are a product of what you do. So the second rule of losing weight is eliminate addictive foods from your diet.
Even if we only eat when we are hungry we will not necessarily lose weight. This is because our hunger drive does not work correctly in the current food environment. For most of human existence sweets were reserved for special occasions and meat was smaller part of the diet rather than the center of every meal. The meat was much less fatty than the meats we typically eat every day. There were no processed foods engineered by food scientists to make us overeat them. And fiber was not removed from the foods we eat to make them easier to chew and faster to swallow.
To allow our hunger drive to work correctly, we need to change our diet to something closer to what our ancestors ate. And we do not have to look very far back in time, our current obesity problem is less than a hundred years old. We don't need to go all they way back to the caveman or the days of hunter gatherers to have a diet that works with our hunger drive.
The third rule of losing weight is to avoid processed foods as much as possible. Learn to cook simple meals from scratch. Simple, because few people have the time or inclination to cook complicated and time consuming meals. The further away a food is from its natural state the more processed it is. Examples of processed foods are hot dogs, chicken nuggets, cookies, chips, frozen pizzas, french fries, boxed cereals, and pastries. Examples of unprocessed foods are fresh fish and chicken, fresh and frozen vegetables, fruits, and whole grains.
The fourth rule of losing weight is to eat foods that are low in calorie density. Huger is a complex phenomenon that still is not completely understood. But part of controlling hunger is filling the stomach. If you eat foods that are low in calorie density you will fill the stomach and satisfy your hunger while eating fewer calories. The foods that are lowest in calorie density have two things in common. They hold a lot of water and are high in fiber. Green and yellow vegetables are lowest in calorie density for this reason. Fruits and starchy vegetables are higher, but still low compared to other foods. Foods that absorb water when they are cooked, like grains and noodles, are also fairly low in calorie density. Foods of animal origin can contain water but have no fiber. Thus they are medium in calorie density. To keep the calorie density reasonable, choose meats that are lean and lower in fat. Examples of these are fish and poultry. Foods that are high in calorie density have had their water and fiber removed. Processed foods made from a combination of white flour, sugar, and oils are the worst offenders. Examples are white bread, crackers, chips, candy, chocolates, and pastries. Oil is the most calorie dense food and should be used sparingly. Sugar is also calorie dense. Avoid sweet foods except on special occasions along with sugar sweetened drinks and deserts. If you want the taste of something sweet, eat fresh fruit.
The fifth rule of losing weight is to eat foods in the proper proportions. Each meal you eat should reflect the healthy plate formula. Half of what you eat by volume at every meal should be fruit and vegetables. One quarter should be a lean source of protein. For vegetarians this can be beans or other legumes, such as soy. And one quarter should be whole grains or a starchy vegetable. Along with your meal drink a zero calorie drink such as water, black coffee, or tea. Avoid drinking your calories, get them as solid foods. Avoid condiments that are high in fat such as cheese, butter, mayonnaise, and salad dressings containing oils.
The sixth rule of losing weight is to eat until you are satisfied, but not stuffed. You are only sabotaging your diet by not eating enough. Eating foods in the proper proportion that are low in calorie density will allow your hunger drive to work the way it should and you will lose weight without counting calories. How quickly you will lose the weight depends on how out of balance your current diet is. But getting and keeping a healthy weight is a life long process.
The final rule of losing weight is to combine a healthy diet with regular exercise. Lack of exercise is another way our lives are unnatural and lead us to gain weight. Exercise and diet complement each other. Regular exercise makes it easier to stick to a healthy diet and vice versa. What level of exercise is right for you depends on your fitness level and your interests. If you are new to exercise and have no trouble walking, I suggest starting by walking half an hour every day. If you have trouble walking, I suggest DDP Yoga, which is a combination of yoga and gentle calisthenics.
So to summarize the seven rules of losing weight are:
- Do not eat unless you are hungry
- Eliminate foods you have addictive relationship with.
- Avoid processed foods as much as possible and cook from scratch.
- Eat foods low in calorie density.
- Eat foods in the proper proportions: half fruits and vegetables, one quarter lean protein, and one quarter whole grains.
- Eat until your hunger is satisfied, but not until you are stuffed.
- Combine a healthy diet with regular exercise appropriate to your level of fitness.