Feed your body right: she trained her brain to say "when"Linda O'Hanlon used a measuring cup to lose 57 pounds. Overweight since she was a child, Linda, of Maspefh, New York, never developed that "I'm full" signal that makes most people push away their plates after eating a serving or two. "When I sat down for a spaghetti dinner, I didn't get up until every last strand of pasta in the pot was gone," she recalls. Over the years, as her weight crept upward, Linda invested thousands of dollars in fad diets with hopes of slimming down. But they didn't help. "I'd lose 5 pounds and go off the diet," she explains. "Then I'd gain back the 5 pounds, plus another 5." By the time Linda reached 208 pounds, she gave up trying to lose weight, resolving to accept herself as she was. But that changed in August 1997, when she went with a friend to Weight Watchers. Through the program's meetings, she learned how to make healthful food choices and control her portion sizes. "The lesson was that if you put junk in your body, you'll feel like junk," she says. She took that lesson to heart. Realizing that she had a natural tendency to overeat, Linda became extra-vigilant about her portion sizes. When she'd sit down for pasta, she'd pull out her trusty "|measuring cup and carefully measure out 1 cup of spaghetti, 1 cup of cooked vegetables, and 1 cup of garden salad. She'd eat that and no more. Over time, Linda became adept at eyeballing her portion sizes. By relying on her brain instead of her stomach to say "when," she dropped three pants sizes in 7 months. Two years later, at age 30, she's holding steady at 151 pounds. "My clothes fit great, and I'm bursting with energy," she says. WINNING ACTION Learn to recognize portion sizes. For foods that are easy to overdo, especially pasta, cereal, and ice cream, measure out one serving and transfer it into the bowl you would normally use. Make a mental note of how it looks (it's probably a lot smaller than you're used to seeing). You'll need some time to retrain your brain, but eventually, the smaller portions will seem normal. *16\89\8* Weight Loss «Mexican Pharmacy» |
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