Say Hello to your Perfect Body in Eid!!

By: Ola Moheb

Biting a delicious, mouth-watering cookie is an amazing feeling; which makes you feel that the world is still a place that is good and wholesome. However, all your feelings may fall into ashes; when your silly mind gives you a glimpse of how much weight you will gain. I thought of shutting it up many times; but it seems that my mind is against me these days.

You don't know how much I tried to lose weight, how many times I tried to follow up with doctors and how many times I checked my calories; hoping that may be I would lose only one pound; but all that is in vain. Yes, I admit eating fatty, salty as well as sweets and yes, may be the unhealthiest food on earth, but then again, ONE POUND!

Staying away from cookies and depriving myself from it is no longer an option for me; that's why I tried to find some other way to eat bites of my delicious cookies as well as losing some weight. Here are a few tips that I tried myself to lose some weight and to my surprise, I lost 2 kilos in a week and half.. Yuppie.

Multitasking is a disaster:
Quit eating while doing some other tasks like working, watching TV, or maybe driving. Watching yourself is a good idea so it is better to sit down, focus on what is on your plate and what you are chewing. Believe me you will end up eating less.

It's time for rewards:
You have to reward yourself every now and then for well behaving. For example, if you eat much less or substitute your "cookie" with a delicious fruit or vegetable; then it's time to reward yourself. But remember the reward should have nothing to do with food like buying a new skirt, or shopping in general.

STOP feeding your feelings:
You have to differentiate between emotional hunger and physical hunger. Physical hunger is what you feel when your stomach is empty; it has nothing to do with being sad, upset or happy. So be careful and know yourself better.

Visualize your cookie:
Visualize your guilty food pleasure. For example if you like cookies; just like me; you have to close your eyes and visualize yourself biting this delicious cookie. Some studies show that if you visualize eating something; your mind will stop nagging and you will end up munching less on cookies.

Don't eat healthy UNPLEASANT food:
Studies show that you should eat healthy, pleasant food. For example, if you don't like eating salmon; then you don't have to force yourself. To lose weight, you have to eat what nourishes you; energize you and gives you pleasure.

Eat one quarter of your cookie:
If you like cookies or any other tasty food; you can't deprive yourself from eating it. So all you can do is that you can eat one quarter of what you like then go and distract yourself for 15 minutes. If you divide your cookie into four quarters and have a quarter per day, you'll definitely control the damage.

Slow down and take your time:
Slow down when chewing and eating your meals. The eating process should not be less than 30 minutes thus giving your digestive system some time to tell your brain you are full.

Think more about the consequences:
When you see delicious food; don't just think of how tasty and delicious the food is. But start thinking about the consequences of eating such foods.

Don't cook yourself:
Studies show that if you let someone else cook for you; you will enjoy the food more and eat less. So let your hubby cook for you :)

Don't mess it all:
Downing cookie after cookie in a day and then thinking that you're on a diet for the whole day, week, or even month is ruined; and continue on a downward slide by eating more and more, is the worst thing you would ever do. Try to go back on track immediately; forget about the past and change your future.

Try these tricks and tell us how much you lost!