The time has come…swimsuits.  Many people are desperately looking for weight loss for summer.  While many people will head straight for the nearest fad diet or pill, I know you are smarter than that.  I understand that you want quick weight loss (since summer is upon us).  Don’t let this panic make you do stupid things.

Okay, so you want to know what is going to help you now, right?  If you take one thing away from this post, let it be this:

Eat When You Are Hungry…and Stop When You Are Full.

I am not trying to be simplistic here.  Believe me, I see clients in my practice who have a very hard time with this.  The number one issue people have with weight is breaking this ‘rule’.  You are eating for reasons other than hunger.  Let me be clear here:  Physical Hunger.

Many people think they are hungry, but they just want to eat.  That is called an appetite or mouth hunger.  It has nothing to do with the body’s needs.  Some people say they are never hungry.  This means they are eating too frequently–they may be grazing, and are probably emotionally eating without realizing it.

Nobody thinks they emotionally eat, however almost everyone does.  A common example of this is at Thanksgiving, when you are completely stuffed.  You announce you won’t eat again for a week.  Then the dessert cart roles out and you are first in line.  You are not physically hungry here.  A person who listens to their cues would have no problem waiting for the return of hunger to have dessert.

When you are desperate to lose weight fast, you start to think of all the bad foods you should eliminate from your diet.  This is another major issue I see with clients.  It is very important to legalize all foods.  There are no bad foods, and thinking otherwise will cause more overeating.  If you feel guilty about what you eat, or deny yourself what you want…this inevitably leads to overeating in the long run.

Every time you start to focus on weight, remind yourself of what your real focus needs to be.  Weight focus will derail you because it will lead you straight back into the diet mentality of cutting out bad foods and denying yourself when you feel hungry.  Your mantra must be, “Eat when I’m hungry, stop when I’m full, and eat whatever I want without guilt.”  Sounds a lot different than what you’ve heard over the years, but then again, that old message hasn’t been working so well for anyone.

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A good way to become attuned to your physical cues (in your quest for weight loss for summer) is to use the following hunger/fullness scale:
0, you are famished. You probably haven’t eaten in a long time (6-8 hours). You are possibly quite grumpy. You might be feeling nauseous, dizzy, or light-headed. You might have trouble thinking clearly. Your metabolism is slowing down to conserve energy. You need food.

1, you are ravenous. All you can think about is how hungry you are. You are consumed with ideas about what you want to eat. Because you’re so hungry, once you do eat, it’s likely that you will overeat to compensate.

2, you are too hungry. You are probably irritable. You may have a headache. Your stomach might be aching by now.

3, you are having hunger pangs. It’s time to eat. Your body is giving you the natural signals that it needs food. You start to salivate when you think of something that tastes good, and your stomach might be growling.

4, your hunger is just starting to awaken. There is a sense of emptiness in your stomach. This can be an appropriate time to eat.

5, you are neutral. You aren’t hungry or full—this sensation exists between mealtimes.

6, you are just satisfied. You aren’t hungry anymore, but probably will be in 2-3 hours. There is definitely more room for food, and you still feel light and energized. This can be a good place to finish a meal/snack.

7, you are completely satisfied. You got your fill of the food you wanted. You are no longer hungry and you probably won’t need to eat again for 3-4 hours. This is also a good place to finish.

8, you are full. You had just a couple bites too many because it was there or tasted good. You might feel a bit bloated like you need to undo the top button of your pants.

9, you are stuffed. Your eating experience has surpassed pleasure and is now just uncomfortable. You may feel a bit numb or sleepy.

10, you are sick. You feel uncomfortable to the point of pain. You may need to lie down until you feel better.

I like to have my clients combine this tool with a food journal.  You should note a number for your hunger before and your fullness after meals and snacks.  It takes some practice to figure out where you are at initially, but soon it will become second nature (because it is).

You want to try to stay between a 3 and a 7.  If you let yourself get too hungry, you will get too full it works sort of like a pendulum in this way.  So when I say that you need to eat when you are hungry, I mean you better honor your hunger when it comes up.  Don’t push it off because you are busy or it is inconvenient.  This will lead to being way too hungry, and you will overeat.

You must eat slowly enough to sense your fullness.  Try to make a conscious effort to slow your meals to 15-20 minutes.  You will find you gradually become aware of your level of fullness rather than it hitting you all of the sudden.

Overeating and binging are the major reasons for weight struggles.  If you listen to your cues, you can largely avoid these behaviors.  I know it is not glamorous like eating only cabbage, but it is a much more effective for weight loss for summer and beyond.