Common Sense Weight Loss Tip # 3 - Pay Attention to How Full You are Getting

We all know that at some point in the eating process our stomachs start sending us signals that we are getting full. Otherwise how would we know we have eaten enough? We'd just keep shoveling it in, provided there was something to shovel in. Think about it, if this were the way life were designed all we'd be doing is eating constantly, which would not be feasible. We simply would not be able to exist if that were the case. So, God in his infinite wisdom, took care of that with this mechanism that tells our brains that we have had enough to eat. The thing we need to do, that is if you want to maintain a healthy body weight, is tune into that signal. We should strive to be keenly aware of when we first get served that notice, because the sooner you become aware of it, the sooner you can start doing something about it. That would mean winding down the shoveling-in process or better yet calling an abrupt halt to the proceedings. Now, believe me, I know that is easier said than done, especially if the victuals you are having are quite delightful. The better the food, the harder it is to stop yourself. I wholeheartedly understand this, because I love eating great food as much as the next person. When I do find myself in the presence of a great meal, I dive in with "mucho gusto", and I want to gorge myself for as long as I can. However, being aware of my level of fullness I stop eating sooner than when I just ignored or was not even aware of it. The point is that the simple act of being aware enables you to make a decision. You can opt to take control and keep things in sync with an overriding goal, a "bigger yes" as Steven Covey would say, and then "say no" to more consumption, or you can opt to disregard the warning and take a devil-may-care, cavalier attitude and continue with the stuffing. At least you'll have given yourself the opportunity to choose a course of action, and not just mindlessly do what you've probably been doing your whole life.

Once you train yourself to do this every time you eat, you'll find that it gets a little easier to pull yourself up short and discontinue eating. The more you do it the easier it will become to take the necessary action, and that is to quit eating. We are talking about a discipline here. The word comes from the root word disciple, which means to be as adherent of some teaching, philosophy, etc. When you adhere to a certain school of thought, that means you apply its teachings. In other words you "act" on it. If you are going to be successful in controlling your eating habits you must take action at the appropriate time. This is one of the key appropriate times, when your stomach is telling you that you are full! That is the time to strike a blow to your long-standing poor habit of constantly overeating. This is not the time to procrastinate and say "Ah, I'll do it next time, I'm just enjoying this too much now and I don't want it to stop just yet". Guess what... "next-time" never comes. Yes, you are presented with the opportunity to take action on this at every meal, but if you are ever going to lose that excess baggage that you've managed to saddle yourself with from over-indulging all these years, you've got to start sometime. Now is the time; not next time. If you do it now, next time will be another time to exercise your new discipline, and you'll have controlled yourself twice! If you can do it twice you can put together a string of successes to where it becomes second nature. You'll begin doing it as a matter-of-course instead of the opposite and stuffing yourself as a matter-of-course.

I don't know if you realize how powerful what I just shared with you is, because if you can just do this one thing, all the other "Tips" I am sharing with you here will fall effortlessly into place. You will have established a new way of being and operating. You're every thought and action when it comes to the food you eat will have changed...FOR THE BETTER! You will start experiencing your appetite shrink, and when that happens you will start seeing the pounds disappear and a difference in how you look. Believe it! Do it!