Two easy steps to weight loss

These 2 easy steps aren't about what you eat, rather about learning how you eat and understanding your body's needs for food. Which can be very different than your social or emotional needs for food. First, eat only when your body - stomach - is hungry. Eat only when you feel a valid hunger pang in your stomach. Use a hunger scale - when you feel a hunger pang, your hunger level is zero. That's the time to eat. Eat enough food for your stomach hunger number to register a 5, which is comfortable. Eating up to a 7 - full - will prevent you from losing weight. Eating above that - from an 8 to a 10 will cause you to gain weight. So start eating when your stomach is 0 and stop at a 5. To do this, you need mindfulness and the ability to tune into your body's feeling sensations.

Second, keep a food diary in a notebook. Record date, time, beginning hunger number, food or beverage consumed except water, amount of food (you don't need to weight or measure, just estimate), and ending hunger number. You can eat any foods you like provided that you start at 0 and end at 5 and record your intake.

This two-part process works no matter where you are, with whom, or your stress level. Since your stomach is about the size of your fist, be sure to eat your most favorite foods first at - you may not have enough room in stomach for them later in the meal. Eat slowly enough that you can feel your hunger numbers as you eat.

At the end of a couple weeks, your jeans will be looser and you can move onto the refinements of choosing healthy foods.