Losing weight is always a challenge. It’s a battle fought at every meal and a war waged with every snacking opportunity. But, as the military says, you train the way you fight. If you can train yourself to automatically use a few magical phrases and clauses at every meal opportunity, you’ll find that the weight can come off a lot more easily. In fact, you may find yourself losing weight almost magically. Here are seven magic phrases that have helped me lose a 80 pounds and keep it off.
1. “No thank you. . .” If someone offers a snack, a piece of candy, or a dessert, if you can blurt out a “no thank you,” you can avert temptation. If someone persists in offering you food, you can keep firing away with “No thank you” until they leave you alone. Of course, “no thank you” is the toughest thing to say sometimes, but it gets easier with practice. It’s also the most powerful of the magic phrases.
2. “. . .Instead of fries.” We all live in the real world. It’s a world full of errands, overtime, kid’s soccer games, and juggling jobs and priorities. We live in a world where we have to grab a meal on the go. There is no magic to save you from fast food or casual eateries. However, you can cut the carbs and salt dramatically by simply opting for something other than fries. Nearly all fast food restaurant chains offer side salads. When you order something, choose something healthy instead of fries.
3. “. . . and a bottle of water.” Somewhere, sometime, somehow, we got in the soda habit. A soda a week became a soda a day. Soon, a soda a day became a soda with every meal. Nearly every fast food order ends in the phrase: “…and a Coke.” If you change that phrase to a bottle of water, you avoid a lot of sugar and unnecessary carbohydrates.
4. “Make mine Unsweet.” In the South, I live in the land of Sweet Tea. It’s a sugary rush of caffeine and carbs. Unfortunately, it’s the diabetes express. However, if you take just a couple of seconds to blurt out the phrase, “Make mine unsweet,” you can avoid the ups and downs of sugar highs and sugar lows. The taste of unsweet tea is easy to acquire and is smoothly refreshing.
5. “We’d like to split a . . .” It’s hard to stick to a diet when you don’t get any treats. If you can manage to skip dessert most of the time, you are doing well. But, on those days when you have the urge to indulge, you can cut the calories in half by splitting the dessert with your significant other. If you are flying solo, you can eat half of the dessert in one sitting, and get a doggie bag to save the rest.
6. “Put mine on whole wheat.” Everyone loves a classic submarine sandwich. They even seem healthy when piled high with veggies. But, the enriched flour in those classic sub rolls is filled with carbs. You can cut those carbs significantly by opting for whole wheat. In fact, if their are more than 5 grams of fiber in a serving, you can deduct half of those carbs from the carb total for your sandwich.
7. Mustard but no mayo. If you are building a sandwich, you can save significant calories and fat by opting for mustard instead of mayo.
If you add these seven little phrases and clauses to your arsenal of dieting techniques, you’ll have a ready response to temptations. Once you make them a habit, you’ll have an automatic response in mind whenever you order food.
Sources:
Personal Experience
Other articles by this contributor:
How I Eat Healthy at Chick-Fil-A
Four Amazingly Simple Ways to Save Money at the Fast Food Drive Through Window
How to Lose Weight at Waffle House
