Do you know the question I am asked most often is, “How do you keep your weight in check?” Well, I thought long and hard about this question and I began to reflect over several decades of weight ups and weight downs. I can truly say that I have at some points just reached a limit where I just refused to go any higher on that bathroom scale. My mind was set to think that is It, that’s the limit, I have to stop, Now! It was during these periods that I would usually look around for the latest diet program and get started. This has kept me from just going up and up and up. I guess you could say I was able to reign in the pounds before it got out of hand. However, there seem to be several principles that have emerged in any case.

Number one is portion control. By the way, these are not in any order of importance because they all work together to provide a platform for proper weight control. One image that will always support portion control is to remember, “Your stomach is the same size as your fist.” So you look at your plate, what is stacked on it and compare that to your fist. Ouch! You may have to remove something. A portion of protein is the size of a deck of cards, so you just cannot eat that half chicken at one sitting.

Number two is keep a food diary and be honest to include everything. This way you can look back at your day and you will either feel victorious and proud or you will say I can do better tomorrow. The latest term for this is called “mindful eating,” which simply means you are thinking about the effects of your food and not just the taste appeal. Food is no longer considered a recreation but a means to nourish your body for maximum performance and health.

Number three is make an effort to learn new healthy recipes. We know that much of what we consume is based on habit and tradition but we are now smart enough to realize some traditions and old habits must change. It is very important to remind ourselves of the true purpose of the change. We want to live a long and healthy life and we owe to our loved ones to do all we can to this end. We need to be open to try new foods and to prepare the old ones in new and better ways.

Number four is gain freedom from stereotypical meal planning. God did not ordain any particular food for any time of day or night. (Even McDonald’s knows this. lol) There is no such thing as breakfast food; there is just healthy food and unhealthy food. We need to develop a global view by examining the eating habits of other cultures and tribe. When we do this, we will have a broader idea of how to embrace the healthiest food we can find at any time of the day.

Number five is empower yourself to win. This is a mental, emotional state that we adopt and this is characterized by developing a winning attitude. We must believe that we can achieve our weight management goals and never give up. I will give you more specifics on weight loss strategies in a future post.