I hope I can help a few people with this advice. Back when I studied
nutrition and did obesity research at Cornell in the mid-late 1980's, I learned the key for losing weight and keeping it off. Basically, you have to tap into and learn how to harness the power of your
hunger pangs. God gave them to you for a reason, and that's because they're important. Don't ignore them. Learn to eat at the right time (only when you're truly hungry), and eat the right amount of food. Any kind of food. Even fattening food has its place in your
diet.
It sounds obvious, but, as a doctor, I know you can do it. I get my patients to do it and they lose substantial amounts of weight--and get happier, too, since they feel that they're not so out-of-control anymore.
There was a very famous research study that proved the case for following your
hunger pangs. In 1968, Dr. Stanley Schacter (a very famous social psychologist) showed that obese people tend to eat according to "external" cues (triggers that lie outside their stomachs), such as the time on the clock, emotions, the sight of food, etc. In contrast, thin people eat according to internal cues (hunger).
That's the key right there: eat only when you're hungry. That's what I tell my patients, and they lose weight. I hate to admit it, but the men always seem to have an easier time following my advice, but I"m sure that's because we women are so much more complex and eat for emotional reasons.
Obviously, I can't give anyone on this board medical advice. Everyone should ask their own doctor.
I have my own website, and I've written a book on this topic, mostly for the benefit of my patients, but I'd be happy to explain some of the same principles to you if you're interested. I'll need to re-check the rules for this board before I post my URL and other contact info. For the time being, I just wanted to introduce myself, and encourage you to not give up. There's a much easier answer than
dieting. Trust me--I lost 75
pounds and have kept it off for 25 years.
Rita Hancock MD
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Pain Management
