If you want the best chance at the longest life possible one area you must pay attention to is your weight. Losing weight is not easy.  It is also not impossible.  I am not body shaming anyone with pounds to lose. I am a body with pounds to lose.

Let me explain one more thing, it is possible to be skinny and be unhealthy but it is far more common for overweight people to be unhealthy. We are all made different shapes and sizes and you know better than anyone if you are at a healthy weight, so it's not always accurate to go by a chart but it is certainly a good place to start.

There are many reasons why we become overweight. Besides health issues, here are eight eating mistakes that may keep us from losing those unwanted pounds.

1. Not eating enough food
2. Not eating enough protein
3. Eating too much food
4. Drinking too much (coffee, tea, milk, juice, alcohol)
5. Making healthy food a free for all (remember healthy food still contains calories!)
6. Not enough sleep
7. Being stressed out
8. Being addicted to sugar

It's important to address whatever issue is causing you to have weight problems.

If you are an emotional eater it may take time to gain power over emotional eating habits.  I have my own ups and downs. When everything is going smoothly and I have very little stress, I'm almost always at a healthy weight. When I am stressed I gain.  If this is you here are some tips that may help overcome emotional eating:

• Keep a food diary. Write down what you eat, how much you eat, when you eat, how you’re feeling when you eat and how hungry you are. Over time, you might see patterns that reveal the connection between mood and food. I use myfitnesspal (great for accountability if you add friends–feel free to add me as a friend, I don’t mind), and I have also used several paper food diaries.
• Tame your stress. If stress contributes to your emotional eating, try a stress management technique, such as yoga, meditation or deep breathing. I really want to go to a yoga class at my gym, but it’s at 10 am… not the best time for me to go. So I just do my own thing.
• Have a hunger reality check. Is your hunger physical or emotional? If you ate just a few hours ago and don’t have a rumbling stomach, you’re probably not hungry. Give the craving time to pass. Learn to tell the difference between actual hunger and emotional hunger.
• Get support. You’re more likely to give in to emotional eating if you lack a good support network. Lean on family and friends or consider joining a support group. I started a local Trim Healthy Mama group so that I could get and give support with a group of like-minded ladies.
• Fight boredom. Instead of snacking when you’re not hungry, distract yourself and substitute a healthier behavior. Take a walk, watch a movie, play with your cat, listen to music, read, surf the Internet or call a friend.
• Take away temptation. Don’t keep hard-to-resist comfort foods in your home. And if you feel angry or blue, postpone your trip to the grocery store until you have your emotions in check.
• Don’t skimp on sleep. Often when you are tired, you may turn to food to give you energy, and more often than not we reach for less than healthy options. If you are reaching for food when you are tired, try taking a short nap instead! Work on getting enough sleep each night.
• Don’t deprive yourself. When trying to lose weight, you might limit calories too much, eat the same foods repeatedly and banish treats. This may just serve to increase your food cravings, especially in response to emotions. Eat satisfying amounts of healthier foods, enjoy an occasional treat, and get plenty of variety to help curb cravings.
• Snack healthy. If you feel the urge to eat between meals, choose a low-fat, low-calorie snack, such as fresh fruit, vegetables with low-fat dip or unbuttered popcorn. Or try low-fat, lower-calorie versions of your favorite foods to see if they satisfy your craving.
• Learn from setbacks. If you have an episode of emotional eating, forgive yourself and start fresh the next day. Try to learn from the experience and make a plan for how you can prevent it in the future. Focus on the positive changes you’re making in your eating habits and give yourself credit for making changes that’ll lead to better health. (source)

Drinking an adequate amount of water can help keep you fuller between meals and aids your body in maintaining proper hydration which is important for your body to function properly. You can also speed up the weight loss process by adding a few cups of delicious Pu Erh tea! It’s as simple as drinking a cup in between meals.

Limit your exposure to toxins, start making sleep a priority, reduce stress, exercise and focus on eating a healthy diet. The eating plan that has worked best for me and hundreds of thousands of other people is the Trim Healthy Mama plan. If you'd like to read more you can head over to my Weight Loss page.

Using the Trim Healthy Mama plan it is possible to lose weight while eating real food, including dessert. It's all about how you combine your fuels. As I have helped many people follow this plan one thing I hear most often is that it is the only weight loss plan that doesn't include deprivation.  If you have any questions or comments about weight loss or how  to do the Trim Healthy Mama plan, feel free to leave them in the comment section or email me at [email protected]

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