More is Not Better

Have you seen the television ad with the little girl saying, “Well, we just want More. Not less. We want MORE. We’re not getting enough so MORE is better and we just want MORE.” I think it’s an AT&T ad. And the quote is not verbatim, but the idea is the same. Not to argue with AT&T, but more is not better.

This “more is better” attitude is what has gotten us where we are…..the fattest nation in the world. You’ve heard that fifty years ago food portions were much less than they are now and people weighed considerably less. An 8- ounce Coke was standard. What’s standard now? At least 12 ounces. Back then, a meal at McDonald’s did not have a super- size anything. The Big Mac was huge by standards of the day.

Our standards have changed and more is what we want. More of this, more of that, more of everything. The thing to remember as you struggle to make do with less is that “more” is the problem. More is not your friend. We don’t need more. Someone once told me that one bite of something is tasting. Two to six bites is eating. Anything MORE is stuffing your face.

More is not what we need, unless it is more willpower, more determination, more inspiration, and more self-esteem. Those “mores” will get us where we need to be. Enjoy and slowly savor the normal portions of your food and leave the more for someone else. If you can keep the image of that whiny little girl in your head while you eat, so much the better. You can do this…..Win When You Lose can help.

There is No Good Time to Start Losing Weight

Many times people will tell me that “This just isn’t a good time to start my weight loss. I have a (fill in the blank with some special occasion) coming up.” It might be a shock, but there is no good time to start losing weight.

Think of it by the calendar. You start off with New Year’s Eve and then jump into a manic effort to get your eating under control. For me, my birthday comes next (I would like to change it to sometime in July), then an anniversary, and then Valentine’s Day. This triple-whammy is closely followed by St. Patrick’s Day and Easter. Memorial Day is right around the corner, with graduations and weddings thrown in for good measure before the 4th of July beckons with all of that good American celebration food. Summer cookouts and vacations blend into Labor Day. Soon is it Halloween and then, Thanksgiving and Christmas. There’s an excuse to put off your weight loss attempt at every turn of the calendar page.

The thing to remember is that you will have to learn how to navigate these occasions and excuses for indulgence in the future. There are just too many special dates and they all seem to revolve around food.  There is no good time to start losing weight. You may as well start and do it now. Start! Just start right now. Today, with your very next meal. You can do it and I can help. I’ll give you tips to avoid overeating on those holidays in a future post. Or you can buy the Win When You Lose book at http://www.amazon.com/author/susanmcdaniel and get a jump-start on becoming the best you you can be. Keep the calendar view in your mind when you try to postpone your weight loss efforts. It will hopefully snap you back to reality.