How to take control over tasty food temptations?

Hello Clare,

I try to watch my diet (the key word here is try) and exercise daily at the fitness center where I live, but with so many food temptations around, my weight remains constant.

Please address the needs of working people like me who have no choice but to eat lunch out during the day. This, plus never- ending meetings with coffee and the lure of snack or junk foods around us, makes Will Power a person that most of us can never meet.

I hope your article will take into account the special situations of the older working man like myself (age 55). Also, can you advise us how to take control over the temptations that make us give up any hopes for a successful weight loss program or diet as they just do not fit into our normal daily lives?

Regards,

Eliot

Answer:

Dear Eliot,

Many readers will relate to your comments and concerns about weight loss. Appropriately, they enable me to expand on today's article.

A sensible nourishing diet, (for reduction or management) must be easily integrated into your normal everyday life. It should fit you and your needs and if the foundations of your eating plan are good, unexpected happenings won't cause a problem. But, always balance your intake.

For instance, in the workplace, there is often pressure to eat what everyone else is eating. During your meetings with coffee and, or an enforced pizza lunch, or a celebratory cake for a colleagues birthday. In fact, good manners sometimes mean extra calories eaten accidentally!

This requires later adjustment. So, if your lunch is bigger than expected, just make your supper smaller. Some cake mid afternoon, could mean no wine or glass of beer in the evening.

Alternatively, remember that most people won't actually notice what you're eating, or be offended if you refuse. You can say no! Like the corporate lunch excuse, don't let always being polite justify always being plump.

If you are trying hard, but still not losing weight, another suggestion is to keep a food diary, even for a few days. This will help you become aware of exactly what and when you are eating. It may prove surprising.

Regular meals and snacks mean never again being "starving". It's easier to resist those temptations when you are already satisfied. Be prepared for some cravings though, even when you're not hungry. They come, but they quickly go too. Accept them, do something else and the craving to eat will go away. Try it!

As we get older, our metabolism naturally slows down, so eating good food and having regular exercise is very important. Keep up the good work Eliot, and those extra pounds will soon go permanently.

-- Clare E. Urwin