Losing that last ten or fifteen pounds is hard, isn't it? It's like a weight loss plateau -- you've tried everything to lose weight, but no matter what you do, the scale doesn't budge. It's tempting to go on whatever fad diet is popular, or give up and return to old habits. There's another option, though, and I want to share my recent experience with it today.
I recently started working as a belly dancer in a restaurant. At a restaurant, the expectation is a bra and belt, with the midsection showing. And because I do sword work, including balancing the sword on my hip, wearing a belly cover isn't an option for me. My weight is normal, and it isn't affecting my health, but suddenly, I'm self-conscious about my "baby belly."
I started where everyone should -- by keeping a food record for a few days. I quickly made some interesting observations. First, getting enough water is definitely a challenge for me. And second, I found room for improvement in how much I was eating after coming home from work at night. Lastly, I noticed that I'd fallen into the habit of eating a few chips here, or a nosh there, as I was serving my kids' plates or preparing meals.
I decided to start by upping my water intake to 4 liters a day. (Please, check with your health care professional before you up your fluid intake!) Because of my work schedule, the only way to do this was to drink a liter of water after I get home from work at night.
I quickly observed something: Much of what I do, in terms of eating, is surprisingly habitual. My so-called hunger when I get home from work -- which I'd been tackling with a big bowl of veggies or a salad, followed by a couple of sugar-free popsicles -- was completely alleviated by a liter of water instead.
More intriguing still, I noticed that giving up habits is hard. Not because I was hungry, or because they met my wants or needs in any way. Giving up my previous behaviors was hard simply because they were familiar. I didn't develop them with the intention of comforting myself, and I'm not a fanatic about routines. Yet, I had inadvertently developed routines that support my weight as it is now, and prevent me from taking weight loss to the next level.
Moral of the story? Your food record is your best friend and ally! -- and you can use it to pinpoint areas where you can make small changes. If you're already keeping a food record, I'm challenging you to find one or two areas where you could make minor changes. Are you holding on to drinking one soda a day, or enjoying a glass of wine every evening with dinner? Is there room for improvement with balancing proteins and carbs at meals and snacks? Are you really getting enough non-starchy veggies every day? You get the idea!
When you set goals to make these seemingly small changes, be especially aware of how you feel as you change your behavior. Is it a hard habit to break? If so, what do you need to motivate you to follow through? Do you need a (non-food) reward to inspire you? Develop an affirmation? Ask for help? Whatever you might need, don't be shy about putting in that extra effort. You deserve it! Breaking habits is hard work.
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