Need to lose fat? How to handle temptation

I'm sure we've all been de-railed when it comes to fat loss and weight loss programs. We don't see much movement on the bathroom scale and we wonder what on earth we have to do. Our determination starts to waiver and at the first sight or smell of something we have decided we are not allowed - we give in to temptation. Before we know it our fat loss progress has stalled or worse still reversed and we are now facing an even bigger uphill battle to lose our accummulated fat.

One of our newest clients is facing that dilemma at the moment. She is doing everything that is being asked of her. She is following the diet plan, she is writing down everything she eats and how much exercise she is doing. To look at her you can tell she is losing size and quite a considerable amount of size in a very short space of time but on the scale - she is persistently staying around her starting weight.

This is one very good reason why it is important never to use just one measurement as a way of tracking your progress (but more on this later).

One of the questions she posed on the forums revolved around a particular issue she was having - how to cope with the "smell" of temptation. As she explained it, she was walking to the supermarket to pick up some pet food, next to the supermarket was a fish and chip shop - and it was cooking someone's dinner - you all know how salivating the smell of vinegar on hot chips can be.... Anyway, the good girl that she was walked past without buying any, but asked what else she could do. And if you would like to join in the discussion you need to go to the FAT LOSS Forum

So I began to think about the question of temptation and how it can derail our fat loss progress and came up with some suggestions on how to get around some of the issues.

• A trick I use every day -  I drink black coffee and chew sugar free chewing gum. Really curbs the appetite and reduces cravings instantly.
• Don’t buy / keep in the house foods that you know are not going to help you with your health, fitness and weight loss goals – always have lots of healthy choices – fruit, nuts, protein powder for shakes, water, salad/veggies to nibble on and bits of cooked chicken breast, boiled eggs etc.  
• Prepare your food for the next day the night before and eat only what you have taken with you to work. Don’t stray. It takes 3 weeks of eating in a healthy way (ie no sugary, salty, processed foods) to get your hormones back in balance and once in balance the cravings stop. You have to really be determined for the first 3 weeks –then – the good news is – it gets easier to resist because the hormones are no longer ruling you – you are in charge of what foods you put in your mouth.
• Never go grocery shopping when you are hungry – make sure you have eaten before you food shop
• Drink 2 glasses of water before even looking at any meal times or when you think you are hungry.

If you are going out for dinner either:

• drink a glass of Low Fat / Hi-Lo milk,
• eat a small pot of plain yoghurt with a portion of fresh fruit in it,
• or make yourself a protein shake (eg BSN Syntha-6, Musashi WPI, or Max’s HP+ with water and ice cubes) before you leave the house.
• Try to avoid desserts or ‘share’ a dessert with someone where you allow yourself a ‘taste’ 1 or 2 tsp max!!

Remember – every mouthful of food that you put in your mouth will either speed up your wt loss or slow it down or even ruin it (depending on the type of food) so be positive and quietly praise yourself every time you resist temptation and tell yourself you are yet another step towards your goals.