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- Habits of Fit Forever
- 1 WAIT UNTIL YOU FEEL A STRONG PHYSICAL HUNGER
- The Hunger Scale
- True hunger vs emotional hunger
- 2 – EAT QUALITY WHOLE FOOD THAT SATISFIES YOUR BODY
- How filling are different foods and drinks?
- 3 – SLOWLY ENJOY EVERY MOUTHFUL
- 4 – STOP EATING BEFORE YOU FEEL FULL
- 5 – WHEN YOU’RE NOT EATING, ENJOY MOVING YOUR BODY
- SUMMARY
- Scenarios to Expect
Remember: Diets Make People Fat
Diets work AGAINST your mind and body
How to get fit forever
The Life of Fit and Healthy
Lifestyle habits that work with your mind and body
Your body is smarter than any diet on earth. It knows exactly how to be strong, fit, and healthy, like all things in nature. So once we remove the barriers that diets have put in your way, and let your body do what it does best (take care of you), you’ll soon be blown away by just how quickly and easily it works.
I’m going to give you FIVE FIT FOREVER HABITS to follow that will help you tune into your own body’s signals that tell you what to do, what to eat, when you eat, how to eat it, and how much to have. Your new signals will then help you make the best choices in any situation you encounter.
“The choices that determine our physique, health, and happiness all take place in the mind.”
With this fit-forever system, there’s no guilt, no calorie counting, and no forbidden foods. Just replace old diets with a lifestyle of new habits. I don’t care how much you weigh, if you’ve been overweight all your life, or if all your family are overweight, as you use this system you WILL get fitter, stronger, feel more in control, and feel better about yourself. Let’s get you fit forever.
Fit Forever Habit 1 – WHEN TO EAT
WAIT UNTIL YOU FEEL A STRONG PHYSICAL HUNGER
Trust your body’s innate wisdom and wait until it gives you a clear signal to eat through a strong feeling of physical hunger.
For this, I want to introduce you to an amazing tool that you can use to know exactly how hungry you are. I call it the Hunger Scale, and it goes from one, which is physically faint with hunger, to ten, which is stuffed to the point of nausea. Take a few moments right now to look at the hunger scale and tune in to your body. How hungry are you right now?
The Hunger Scale
strong physical hunger = 3 on hunger scale
I want you to wait until you notice yourself feeling like a 3 on the hunger scale. That is when you are significantly hungry but before you become ravenous. I want you to hold off on any and all mindless snacking for now, and wait until you are truly hungry before eating your next meal.
Stay within the Fat Burning Zone
Managable hunger is the feeling of fat burning
In the fat-burning zone, your body is free to comfortably utilize any excess stored body fat until it next comes time to eat. Whenever body fat is being used for energy, you can expect to experience some degree of hunger. Hunger is a consequence of fat burning. If you’re not hungry, you’re not burning body fat. So whenever you are hungry, enjoy it! That’s the feeling of fat cells shrinking and of you getting leaner. Start to feel comfortable and at ease in this zone. Hunger is not an emergency, you’re just burning fat. Eating now will only halt fat burning, so if the hunger is manageable, then let the excess fat continue to melt away.
Avoid the Caution Zone
Unmangable hunger makes you impulisive and ravenous
Letting yourself get excessively hungry will create tension around food, distorted hunger signals, and behavior patterns of craving and bingeing (aka dieting). This form of starvation will trigger you to overcompensate more than your body needs and store the excess calories as fat (weight rebound).
How do I know if I’m truly hungry?
When your body is genuinely hungry, it gives you an unmistakable feeling. If you are not sure whether or not you are hungry, you aren’t really hungry. Physical hunger is worth waiting for. Then you can eat safely with the knowledge that your food is really necessary, and you can enjoy it fully. It tastes better too!
Watch out for false hunger
As you start to pay closer attention to your body, start to notice the subtle differences you feel between physical hunger and other needs that your body is asking to be fulfilled.
Examples of false hunger signals
Hover on boxes for more info
Thirsty?
Dehydrated - Drink Water
It’s virtually impossible to tell the difference between a thirst signal and authentic hunger, so it’s a good idea to make your first response to strong hunger pangs a fresh glass of water. If you’re not hungry in five minutes, it was thirst.
Specific Cravings?
Emotional Hunger
Food temptations are common, like spotting a cookie, smelling a food joint, or being offered a doughnut. But if you aren’t truly physically hungry, just craving, then hold off and maybe have it later.
Want to change how you feel?
Emotional Hunger
If you want to change the way that you feel, no amount of food will help. Emotions (like guilt, disappointment, and loneliness) are your feedback and a call for action. They will stay with you until it’s done their job, so as soon as you learn from the message and take appropriate action, the emotion will simply go away.
Got the urge to Snack?
Bored - Do Something
If you feel the urge to visit the cupboard and snack, it might be a signal you’re bored, and to get up and do something more productive. It’s also fine to be bored sometimes, it’s not an emergency or a big deal. Just enjoy the moment. Some enjoy meditation when they are bored to watch their thoughts. Snacking to alleviate boredom leads to excess consumption and fat storage, so I want you to stop all mindless snacking and hold off until meal time.
Feeling Tired?
Tired - Sleep More
If you’re tired, food isn’t a great option. You need to improve your energy levels with smart management of sleep, naps, and caffeine.
The importance of sleep is so significant that you could easily argue it’s the most critical factor in achieving the body you want. Quality sleep helps by reducing hunger, increasing satisfaction, burning fat faster, increasing willpower, and building muscle.
Feeling Unwell?
Sick - Quality Care
This is a time when you really need to pay attention to what your body needs. Some people lose their appetite when they’re sick and others feel more hungry. Either way, you need to feed your body the right amount of high-quality nutritious food as needed for a speedy recovery.
If you are unsure of what to eat or how much to eat, talk to your doctor or medical provider.
Recognizing emotional hunger
True physical hunger is different from emotional hunger. If you ever said to yourself, “I’m hungry all the time!” or even “I’m never hungry,” chances are what you’re experiencing is more in your head than your body. Fortunately, as you begin to listen to your body, you will once again be able to easily recognize the subtle and not-so-subtle signs of true, authentic hunger.
One of the most common mistakes people make when they first start out on my system is to confuse emotional hunger with physical hunger. This is because until we become more attuned to our bodies, the two feel remarkably similar. In fact, the number one reason people eat when they’re not hungry is to cover up a negative emotion or to fill an emotional hole. That’s why you can sometimes find yourself eating and eating without getting full because you were never hungry for food in the first place.
Perhaps you had an argument and had some chocolate to make yourself feel better, or you got home after a long, hard day and decided to cheer yourself up with some ice cream. Maybe you just were feeling bored and suddenly decided that a plate of cheese and crackers would hit the spot.
Here are some differences to help you make a clear distinction every time:
True Physical Hunger
Gradual and patient
Signs of physical hunger
- Starts gradually
- Food can be delayed for a while
- Not craving anything too specific
- In control during eating
- No real emotional reaction
- Able to stop eating when satisfied
- Starts gradually
- Food can be delayed for a while
- Not craving anything too specific
- In control during eating
- No real emotional reaction
- Able to stop eating when satisfied
Emotional Hunger
Sudden and urgent
Signs of emotional hunger
- Appears suddenly
- Can’t wait. Must eat now
- Craving specific foods
- Feeling out of control
- Regretful and guilty afterwards
- Unable to stop when full
- Appears suddenly
- Can’t wait. Must eat now
- Craving specific foods
- Feeling out of control
- Regretful and guilty afterwards
- Unable to stop when full
Am I really hungry . . .
… or do I just want to change the way I feel?
Fit Forever Habit 2 – WHAT TO EAT
Eat quality whole food that satisfies your body
Know someone who has had a baby? When they were pregnant, remember that one minute they wanted pickled onions, the next they wanted ice cream? Because they were building a baby, their body’s wisdom knew that it needed certain nutrients, and it drove them in that direction.
Your body has an incredibly smart instinct that knows what it needs, and it tells this to you through your own tastes and preferences. Unfortunately, it’s very easy to think we know what we want to eat, instead of actually feeling what we want to eat.
Feeling hungry vs Thinking Hungry
If you’re passing a market stand and see a burger, and suddenly think “oh I’m hungry for that,” that is a thought; an emotional hunger. Your body may not be physically hungry at all, so make sure you closely follow fit habit number 1 above. Make sure you are feeling you want to eat something instead of thinking you want to.
Listen to what your BODY needs for satisfaction
You need to begin to trust your body’s wisdom again. When listening to what foods your body wants, find foods that supply your body the quality nutrients it’s asking for, and more satisfying foods will also give you a stronger signal of fullness.
A calorie deficit is always required for weight loss to occur, so if you can feel fuller on fewer calories, then it will be easier and more comfortable to enjoy and maintain your new fit forever lifestyle.
You can eat anything your BODY wants to eat. Don’t eat what you think you should, or what others have told you to eat, just trust your body. This is really important, so take your time to make each decision.
How satisfying are different foods?
Finding foods that are filling and satisfying
Picking foods that the body finds more satisfying will amplify your body’s signal of fullness to help you control your food intake. Different foods have different satiety levels, but roughly speaking, the more fiber, protein, and water a food contains, the stronger and longer it will satisfy.
Have a look at the foods below and be open to seeing what works for you and your new mental outlook. If you notice your body really doesn’t want it, don’t have it. Only enjoy foods that you know your body truly needs and enjoys.
“Satisfaction Scores” on this page are relative to the satiety index of common foods. Eur J Clin Nutr. 1995 Sep;49(9):675-90. A satiety index of common foods. Holt SH, Miller JC, Petocz P, Farmakalidis E.
Research References
- Anderson, G.H., and Woodend, D., “Effect of glycemic carbohydrates on short-term satiety and food intake,” Nutr Rev 2003; 61(5): 17-26
- Araya, H., et al., “Short-term satiety in preschool children: a comparison between high protein meal and a high complex carbohydrate meal,” Int J Food Sci Nutr 2000; 51(2): 119-124
- Blundell, J.E., and MacDiarmid, J.I., “Fat as a risk factor for overconsumption: satiation, satiety, and patterns of eating,” J Am Diet Assoc 1997 97(7): S63-S69
- Bell, E.A., et al., “Sensory-specific satiety is affected more by volume than by energy content of a liquid food,” Phys Behav 2003; 78(4): 593-600
- Green, S.M., et al., “Effect of fat- and sucrose-containing foods on the size of eating episodes and energy intake in lean males: potential for causing overconsumption,” Eur J Clin Nutr 1994; 48(8): 547-555
- Guinard, J-X, and Brun, P., “Sensory-specific satiety: comparison of taste and texture effects,” Appetite 1998; 31(2): 141-157
- Holt, S.H., et al., “A satiety index of common foods,” Eur J Clin Nutr 1995 Sep; 49(9): 675-690
- Holt, S.A., et al., “The effects of equal-energy portions of different pieces of bread on blood glucose levels, feelings of fullness and subsequent food intake,” J Am Diet Assoc 2001; 101(7): 767-773
- Marnier, C., et al., “Effects of macronutrient content and energy density of snacks consumed in a satiety state on the onset of the next meal,” Appetite 2000; 34(2): 161-168
- Pasman, W.J., et al., “Effect of one week of fiber supplementation on hunger and satiety ratings and energy intake,” Appetite 29(1): 77-87
- Porrini, M., et al., “Effects of physical and chemical characteristics of food on specific and general satiety,” Phys Behav 1995; 57(3): 461-468
- Porrini, M., et al., “Evaluation of satiety sensations and food intake after different preloads,” Appetite 1995; 25(1): 17-30
- Rigaud, D., et al., “Effects of a moderate dietary fiber supplement on hunger rating, energy input and fecal energy output in young, healthy volunteers. A randomized, double-blind, cross-over trial,” Int J Obes 1987; 11(1): 73-78
- Rolls, B.J., and Roe, L.S., “Effect of the volume of liquid food infused intragastrically on satiety in women,” Phys Behav 2002; 76(4): 623-631
Read More https://nutritiondata.self.com/topics/fullness-factor#ixzz6E6MGglqs
Satisfaction Score
100 %
Fibrous Vegetables
Stoke up on salads and veggies!
These natural, nutritional quality foods are ideal for satisfaction; your body loves them, fills you up, and leaves you feeling great!
Asparagus, artichokes, broccoli, green beans, spinach, celery, brussels sprouts, peas, leafy salad greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, mushrooms, onions, courgette, squash, eggplant, beets, cauliflower, cabbage, carrots, the list goes on!
These are high in fiber, which helps you maintain optimal digestion and flush your body of toxins and waste. They are loaded with nutritional vitamins and minerals along with phytochemicals that have many health benefits.
Soups are very filling, despite being in liquid form. They may also stay in the stomach longer, prolonging the feeling of fullness.
Satisfaction Score
74 %
Quality Lean Proteins
Power for your muscles!
Protein makes up the building blocks of your entire body. Every part of you is made of protein, even your eyeballs! Your body could be calling for protein for its growth and repair, especially after doing physical activities or when you’re injured.
High-quality proteins are very satisfying and include free-range chicken, fish, lean cuts of beef, pork or lamb, eggs, and unsweetened dairy.
Eggs are a nutritious, high-protein, and quality food with a powerful impact on fullness.
Greek yogurt is a popular, high-protein option that can fill you up for hours.
High-fat dairy like cream and cheese isn’t very filling so use sparingly.
Vegetarian? Vegan? No worries. Swap out animal protein sources for vegetarian sources such as soy, tofu, tempeh, etc.
If you aren’t professionally diagnosed with lactose intolerance, don’t try and remove lactose from your diet. Lactose-based items have lots of nutritional value and removing them won’t help you lose weight any faster. Trust me.
Satisfaction Score
82 %
Fresh Fruits
Nature’s Candy!
Your body could be wanting some fruits loaded with healthy yummy goodness. Fruits are full of fiber and high in nutritional quality while also low in calories.
Fruit includes blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, raspberries, pears, peaches, grapes, pineapple, papayas, bananas, grapefruits, nectarines, oranges, apples, and kiwi fruits.
Whole fruits in their natural form, are much more satisfying and nutritious compared to processed juices.
Berries not only provide fiber but also are typically very low in calories. One whole cup of strawberries only has 50 calories!
Satisfaction Score
65 %
Starchy carbs and grains
Fuelling your activities
Starchy carbs and grains are high-energy fuels. When you’re physically active, it’s likely you’ll feel your body crave these energy-packed foods to help you fuel your activity. When you’re less active, your body won’t need these as much.
Starchy carbs include potatoes, kumara, rice, beans, lentils, oats, wheat, yams, and whole-grain bread. Again, make sure these carbs are mostly from unprocessed, natural sources.
Potato and oatmeal are very filling choices when you’re hungry. These help you eat fewer calories in the following meal and delay emptying of the stomach.
If you aren’t professionally diagnosed with gluten intolerance, don’t try and remove gluten from your diet. Only limit gluten if your body truly feels it doesn’t want it. Gluten-based foods have lots of nutritional value and removing them won’t help you lose weight any faster.
Satisfaction Score
19 %
Quality Fats
“Engine oil” for your body
Pay attention to when your body wants some quality fats. Your body sometimes needs a top-up of essential fats, just like a car needs engine oil top-ups for optimal engine operation. Also just like a car needing oil, your body only needs a small amount so pay attention to when it’s had enough.
When selecting a fat for your body, look to get quality sources of omega-3 fats from fatty fish like salmon, sardines, and tuna. Other sources include ground flaxseed, walnuts, and dark leafy greens. If your body doesn’t like the taste of fish, look at getting it in supplement form.
Satisfaction Score
15 %
Processed Foods
Mindless munchies
Processed foods offer very little nutritional benefit to the body, and are easy to eat mindlessly. These include all chips, crackers, chocolates, ice creams, candy, baked goods, bars, cereals, sauces, spreads, and fried foods.
Nutrition experts call them “ultra-processed foods” because they are designed to artificially inflate your hunger signals to make you crave more, buy more, and eat more. Companies combine sugar, fat, and salt, along with minimal fiber, in order to make them highly palatable, and highly addictive.
Each of us has a personal safe limit, beyond which it becomes addictive and harmful to our natural systems. I recommend you reserve these foods for occasional little treats. You might even notice that you crave these less as you better tune in to your body’s signals.
Satisfaction Score
7 %
Sugar
Sneaky and sweet
Sugar is found in a whopping 75% of everything in a supermarket today so keep an eye out for it in most ingredients lists. A little sugar is fine, but for each of us, there is a “tipping point” beyond which it can distort our hunger signals and disrupt our regulatory systems.
Sugar is partly processed in the liver; similar to alcohol. This pathway bypasses your natural appetite regulation, making it difficult to tell if you are hungry or not.
You do not need to completely eliminate sugar from your food choices, but by staying under your own tipping point, you will protect your regulatory systems, and will be able to enjoy sugar in safe and manageable quantities.
What about Drinks?
Satisfaction Score
100 %
Water
The secret stuff
Your body is mostly water, and it regularly needs topping up for optimal function. Keep a large bottle of water next to you on your desk or in your bag, and you’ll surprise yourself how often your body wants a sip!
The best drinks for quenching your thirst are water, tea, coffee, (maybe milk). On the times when your body is thirsty, water is what you need.
Six ways water is awesome!
- Surpresses appetite by filling up space in the stomach.
- Burns more calories by increasing basal metabolic rate (BMR).
- Cleans the body by assisting waste removal.
- Speeds weight loss by replacing liquid calorie intake.
- Assists fat burning in hydrolysis as part of accessing stored fat cells.
- Improves workout performance by optimising muscle function and mobility.
- Surpresses appetite by filling up space in the stomach.
- Burns more calories by increasing basal metabolic rate (BMR).
- Cleans the body by assisting waste removal.
- Speeds weight loss by replacing liquid calorie intake.
- Assists fat burning in hydrolysis as part of accessing stored fat cells.
- Improves workout performance by optimising muscle function and mobility.
Satisfaction Score
39 %
Liquid Calories
Remember if you are thirsty, drink water
Juices, smoothies, alcohol, coffee, and energy drinks are all enjoyable from time to time, but not very satisfying for the body so make sure water is what takes up the majority of your liquid intake.
Some people think that fruit juice is healthy, but actually fruit juice is just fruit with healthy fiber removed. All that is left is the equivalent of sugar water, making it very easy to drink too many of your calories.
Emotional eating is just a habit . . .
… and all habits can be changed.
Fit Forever Habit 3 – HOW TO EAT
Slowly enjoy every mouthful
I’ve noticed a funny thing about people who struggle with their weight. They spend all their time thinking about food, except when they’re actually eating it! Then they shovel as much food into their mouths as fast as they can without actually chewing or tasting anything.
Strange as it may seem, there is a very good reason for that. Whenever we do something that is essential for our survival, like eating, breathing deeply, or making love, we release a “happy chemical” in our brains called serotonin. People who are overweight often shovel food into their mouths as quickly as possible in order to get serotonin high. Unfortunately, because they are eating unconsciously, they never notice the signal from their stomach that lets them know that they’ve had enough, and they keep on stuffing their faces, expanding their stomachs, and putting on weight.
Even though they get a temporarily high from cramming in lots of food, they feel bloated and guilty afterward. In fact, they feel so bad that they repeat the whole ritual of unconsciously stuffing themselves again in order to anesthetize the bad feelings they just created!
Enjoying your food resets your relationship with food. It respects the wisdom of your body and lets you hear the signals it is sending you about what you really need to eat and how much.
“You can eat whatever you want, whenever you want,
so long as you fully enjoy every single mouthful.”
This one habit is the critical key to the success of fit forever.
The very moment that any aspect of the eating is not fully enjoyable, stop eating.
First, pause everything!
Put everything on hold, sit down, ready to enjoy.
You can probably remember a time when you’ve been eating popcorn, nuts, or chips while watching a film or a football game. By the time you “woke up” and came to your senses, the entire bowl, bag, or box was empty, no matter how hungry you were when you started. From now on, I want you to stop everything, focus on your food and let it take all your attention.
Pause activities
Pause all driving, walking, jobs around the house, and just sit down to eat your food properly.
Put away devices
If your devices are in your sight tempting you to mindlessly use them, put them away out of sight. Don’t worry, your social media will still be there afterward.
Turn off Screens
Put away your apps, TV shows, movies, books, puzzles, or anything that draws your attention. Wait until after you’ve finished eating.
Once people are free to just focus on their food, they often tell me that it suddenly tastes amazing, because for the first time in ages they were pausing, eating slowly and consciously enough to actually taste it.
Let all your attention settle on the pleasure of eating
Take the time to sit down at a table and eat from a plate, eating slowly and mindfully. You can enjoy eating a meal with friends and family too, just make sure you pause eating and put your fork down when you enjoy the conversation. This allows you to enjoy your food fully. If you find you’re not enjoying it, then stop eating. You might not be physically hungry, you might emotionally hungery, you might not really want this particular food. In any case, simply stop and pause for a sec, let your body tell you what, if anything, it wants.
A recent study conducted in Switzerland showed that when people were blindfolded, they ate 25 percent less than when they could see. In other words, when they weren’t looking at the food but were instead totally concentrating on the taste and texture, they actually ate less.
A recent study conducted in Switzerland showed that when people were blindfolded, they ate 25 percent less than when they could see. In other words, when they weren’t looking at the food but were instead totally concentrating on the taste and texture, they actually ate less.
Slowly enjoying your food is a powerful way to begin disrupting your old unconscious habits. By pausing everything, sitting down, and simply enjoying your food, you will find it considerably easier to notice your hunger levels reduce.
FAQ
How to Enjoy your Food
Make every mouthful a magical moment
It sounds simple, but it can be difficult if you’re not used to it. I want you to really enjoy it, to savor the taste, and enjoy the wonderful textures and sensations as you thoroughly chew each mouthful.
When you focus all your attention on the entire process of eating, you eat less, you notice you are satisfied sooner, you enjoy your food more, and you develop a better relationship with food in general. In order to do this, here are some extra instructions.
Slow down your eating
Be the slowest of the group
When people eat too quickly without paying attention to their food, their body doesn’t have time to process the signal that they’re full. Before they finally notice it, they’ve eaten way too much, and they feel stuffed, bloated, guilty, and lethargic.
Instead, slow your eating speed down to about a quarter of what it used to be and chew each mouthful thoroughly at least twenty times. As you enjoy your food more slowly, it will give your body time to notice what it’s doing, it will be easier to notice your hunger reducing and it will be easier to stop eating before you are full.
Taste like a gourmet
Noticing how your food really tastes
Become more conscious of the process of smelling, tasting, and chewing your food as if you were trying it for the first time. In this way, you make every bite a conscious choice, eating your food like a gourmet and savoring every mouthful instead of shoveling it in like an animal.
Interestingly, many who have used my system have told me that as they started to really focus on their food, they noticed their food preferences change. Surgery foods started to become too sweet, salty foods too overpowering and fatty foods too greasy and heavy. You too may find your tastes change and that you gravitate towards a greater variety of flavors and textures.
The Clean Plate Club . . .
… No thanks, I’ll pass.
Fit Forever Habit 4 – WHEN TO STOP
STOP EATING BEFORE YOU FEEL FULL
The natural design of the human body is to eat when we’re hungry and stop when we’re satisfied, but many of us are conditioned to eat until we think we’re full, or even worse until whatever food we put on our plate is gone.
We are continually presented with more food and more opportunities to eat than we could possibly need, so knowing when to stop becomes a vital skill. If we don’t relearn this skill, we are literally killing ourselves with too much food.
In this habit, I teach you to resensitize and properly respond to your body signals that tell you when you’ve had enough food, so you can stop eating, and feel great for the rest of the day.
The Hunger Scale
Stay within the Fat Burning Zone
Stop eating as you approach neutral (5) on the hunger scale
When you’ve eaten enough, your stomach sends you a signal, a sensation that says, “I’m satisfied, that’s enough.” Becoming aware of these hunger signals is like training a muscle. The more you use your awareness, the stronger it gets. When it comes to knowing when enough is enough, stop eating as soon as you are neutral on the hunger scale (level 5). Stop as you notice your hunger reduce. Stop before you feel full, even if there is food left on your plate. Leave it for later, and have a smaller portion next time.
When I teach this, there are invariably some people who start to panic and say, “But what if I’m hungry again ten minutes later?” The answer is very simple: if you’re truly hungry, eat. However, you must eat what will actually satisfy your body, not what your mind might be craving emotionally; eat consciously and enjoy every mouthful, and then once again when you even suspect you are no longer hungry, just stop.
Stop before the Spill Point
Use smaller portions and slow eating to prevent spillover
At the spill point, you’ll notice that each subsequent bite of food becomes a little less enjoyable than the one before. The more you pay attention to this phenomenon, the more obvious it becomes. Mindless eaters don’t notice they are passing the spill point until it’s too late.
Be careful not to spill over into fat-storing mode. Studies have shown that it can take up to twenty minutes for that stop signal to reach your brain. Slow down your eating speed and eat more consciously, and it will become easier and easier to notice this signal as soon as it’s sent. Most people experience it as a gentle, clear, satisfying sensation in their solar plexus (the area below your rib cage but above your stomach).
The Fat Storage Zone
Overeating is uncomfortable, unhealthy and miserable
Beyond the spill point, mindless eaters enter the fat storage zone. Remember, if you’re not hungry, you’re not burning body fat. Continuing to eat beyond this satisfied neutral feeling will store all food beyond this point in body fat stores. The fat storage zone produces distinct and ever-increasing sensations of discomfort, so it’s important that if you reach this point of discomfort, you stop eating immediately, no matter how much or how little food is left on your plate.
FAQ
Amplify your Satisfaction Signals
If you frequently notice you are feeling too full after you stop eating, you may have missed the signal of satisfaction and unknowingly continued to eat. Here are some tips to help you overcome this:
You could be drifting into the caution zone
If you’re finding yourself feeling impulsive, tense, irritable, or out of control before eating a meal (particularly dinner time), you’re probably getting yourself too hungry before you eat. This is the feeling of a 1 – 2 on the hunger scale, aka the caution zone.
Letting yourself get excessively hungry in the caution zone will create tension around food, and give you an overly amplified hunger signal. This can trigger you to overcompensate to eat more than your body needs and make you feel overly full before you realize it.
Time to Quit the “Clean Plate Club”
One of the main habits that get in the way of listening to your body is being a lifetime member of what I call the “clean plate club.” Members of this club think that unless they finish everything put in front of them, they are somehow misbehaving. Like most kids, I was told by my parents to eat everything on my plate because “there are starving children in India.” Don’t underestimate the subtle power of this guilt trip, especially if it was instilled at a formative age.
The Refilling Soup Experiment
Professor Wansink drilled two holes in the bottom of a table at a university restaurant and placed two bowls with tubes attached over the holes. Then, researchers would refill the bowls secretly without the diners noticing. On the opposite side of the table, he set two ordinary bowls.
When the students came into the cafeteria, he told them that he was conducting an experiment on the quality of the soup. In reality, the exact same soup was served to everyone. The difference was that the diners eating from the bowls with holes in them didn’t notice that as they ate the soup their bowls were being gradually refilled. Instead of listening to the signal from their stomach that said they had enough, they just kept on eating until they finished what was in the bowl. The result was that on average they ate a whopping 73 percent more than the other diners!
Swap to the “Mindful eating” club
Feel the pride of leaving food.
Feel the pride, and sense of control when you choose to leave food on your plate, even if it’s just one little bit.
When you leave food, you are sending a new message to your unconscious mind, letting it know for sure that you are changing. This way, you’ll feel comfortable eating only until you feel satisfied, even if it means leaving half or more of the food on your plate. You’ll have less food in your stomach and will be in more control of your life.
If you’re worried about wasting food, just pack the leftovers for the next time you’re hungry. Next time, simply serve yourself a smaller portion, but still, leave a little something. (And if you get hungry again later, don’t worry, get another plate and leave some food on that one as well!)
A life of health and fitness
will enhance every part of it beyond measure.
Fit Forever Habit 5 – WHAT TO DO
When you’re not eating, enjoy moving your body
Our bodies are made with muscles that are designed to be used. Because lots of us work at desks and travel by car, bus, and train, we don’t use our muscles as much as our ancestors used theirs. We have inherited all the healthy genes for fitness and a fast-burning metabolism, but we’ve fallen out of the habit of using them as much or as often as we could.
My Fit Forever system will change that by setting you up to move your body more often and more naturally without having to think about it. You’ll find you are moving much more within just one week of using Fit Forever, not just because you have a workout program, but also because you will want to move more as you feel a natural desire to enjoy using your muscles.
How to move your body, and feel awesome!
IGNITE YOUR ENERGY
Movement makes the motivation
Ever spend the whole day lounging at home and doing nothing? Notice that even though you did nothing, you still felt tired, unmotivated, and lethargic? That’s because your body’s energy levels are only as high or low as needed to match what you are currently doing.
To kickstart your body’s metabolism and boost your energy levels, you must get up and start moving. It may be difficult at first, but after ten minutes of brisk movement, you’ll notice your body wake up, your mood improves, and your motivation feels revived. It feels backwards I know, people think that they must first feel motivated to start moving, but actually, it’s the movement itself that gives you the motivation to continue.
ON YOUR FEET
Step up your step count
Did you know walking or climbing stairs can multiply your metabolism by five to ten times? Get on your feet wherever possible.
Take the stairs instead of escalators, walk to the shops, walk to work, and stay stood up throughout the day. The more steps you take, the faster your metabolism will continue to burn away body fat while you rest or sleep.
CAN DO ATTITUDE
How can I be more active?
You don’t have to go to a gym, you don’t have to be perfect, and you may have an injury or limitation on your options. But it’s important to not play the victim, so take charge, get up and do something, anything that causes you to breathe more deeply than you normally would and/or causes your heart rate to speed up.
Suggestions include walking or cycling to work or the shops, sports and events, joining clubs, team games, walking pets, playing with the kids, activities with friends, hiking, swimming, skiing, kayaking, you get the idea. Anything you can integrate into your regular routine and holiday trips.
LIFT WEIGHTS AND GET STRONG
(Optional, but highly recommended)
People think that if they have a lot of weight to lose, they should lose the fat first cardio before starting a weight-training program. Actually, the opposite is true; you’re burning more calories if you have more muscle. It’s an active tissue that burns more energy at rest compared to fat.
Weight lifting isn’t just about getting strong and burning fat. Its benefits also include improved posture, better sleep, stronger joints, heart health, lower inflammation, and stronger immunity, among an endless list of positives.
FIND A WORKOUT BUDDY
The more the merrier
If you do your activities with a friend or as part of a group, you’ll notice yourself doing it more often and enjoying it more. Activities with others are awesome ways to meet new people and further improve existing friendships and relationships.
Ask a family member or a friend to join you, or join a club or group yourself. Ideally, look for people around the same fitness level as you so you can spur each other on. Having people with you will keep you motivated, get better results, and keep you consistent every week. It can even save you money doing it as a group.
REAP THE BENEFITS
Get ready to feel awesome
Regular exercise triggers the body’s natural impulse to rest, relax, and recuperate. This parasympathetic response is the sweet, soft feeling you get in your muscles when you have finished some heavy work or vigorous movement.
Exercise also releases one of the best stress-reducing drugs available, the high you feel from natural endorphins, the body’s natural opiates. Each time you are active, you release the tension of the stress response, making it feel calmer, safer, and healthier. That in turn positively affects your mood, making you emotionally clearer and more able to function well-to concentrate, relax, and sleep soundly.
FAQ
The amount of energy your body uses to do things.
Your metabolism is the speed at which the body uses energy. The faster someone’s metabolism, the more energy their body requires from food and their body fat stores in order to function.
Your good and bad habits affect your metabolism
Up until recently, people believed their metabolism was genetically predetermined, however, recent scientific research shows that your metabolic rate actually can and will change throughout your life in response to how you eat and use your body.
The Danger of Diets on Metabolism
Diets depleat you of energy, motivation, and damage your metabolism
You may really have a slow metabolism, but the reason is endless dieting! To conserve energy on a diet, your body will slow your energy systems to a minimum. You’ll feel sluggish and completely uninterested in exercise or any physical activity.
To make matters worse, whatever muscle mass you do have will be consumed as your body literally eats itself to generate the energy needed to function. So even if you’re temporarily losing weight on the scale, you’re not losing the right kind of weight, you’re losing muscle.
Why is losing muscle bad? Because that muscle affects your basal metabolic rate, the number of calories your body can burn up for you while you’re sitting in the office, or at home in bed. If one thing is sure, it’s that continuing to deprive yourself actually means weight regain and misery.
Follow my program, and you’ll feel your metabolism come to life.
You’ll get the energy and motivation to move more
Now you’re starting my program, you’ll be eating whenever you are hungry, and your body will realize it has plenty of fuel. In the next few weeks following these habits, you’ll notice your body waking up, your metabolism increasing and your energy responding quickly and efficiently. Because it knows the energy will be replenished as needed, it doesn’t bother to store any additional fat reserves, and you not only look lean but are filled with energy as well. Even if right now, the idea of “exercise” is a complete dread for you, don’t worry. I promise within just one month of using this system, moving your body and using your muscles will become a positively enjoyable experience. Your body and mind will truly love you for it.
Not only can you repair your metabolism, but you can “supercharge” it too, enabling you to burn more fat and calories throughout the day and even while you sleep!
Reframe your attitdude towards being active.
In the past you might have thought about exercise and imagined yourself huffing and puffing on an exercise machine, listening to a maniacal aerobics instructor shouting “feel the burn,” or maybe you bought an exercise machine for yourself that soon became an expensive clothes rack?
In both cases, the problem is that you have not yet linked pleasure to the thought of exercise. It really is that simple, if you want to exercise regularly, you must enjoy moving your body, both as you’re doing it and after.
Until you deliberately root out your negative associations with exercise and install new positive ones, you will continue to tell yourself you “should” do it and beat yourself up for not listening.
You already do!
The fact is, you already “exercise” all day every day, simply by moving your body. The key to supercharging your metabolism is simply to move more than you are currently doing.
More exercise helps you to build more muscle, look fitter, and feel better than ever. You’ll also notice clearer skin, mental clarity, more energy, and an increased sex drive. Certain hormones released during exercise have been shown to slow and even reverse the aging process!
It’s important to remember that no matter how much you want to change, it will still only happen one day at a time. You don’t have to start a formal exercise program (unless you want to feel awesome), but you do have to move your body more. Start being active whenever you can. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Park farther away from the office and walk 2,000 extra steps to work. Move. Dance. Play sports. Have fun. You only have one body, so you might as well enjoy it!
The effort of the climb is hard,
bet the end result is worth it.
SUMMARY
The most natural way to be fit
The principle of all my five fit forever habits is the same: trust the wisdom of your body by paying close attention to how you feel:
WAIT UNTIL YOU FEEL A STRONG PHYSICAL HUNGER
Eat quality whole food that satisfies your body
When eating, slow down and really enjoy it.
Then when you notice your hunger fade, just stop.
When you’re not eating, enjoy moving your body.
What to Expect Along the Way
Scenarios you might encounter
Have a look at each of these situations you can expect to encounter in the next few weeks. By having a plan prepared ahead of time, you can feel confident and ready to manage them when they arrive.
Common Scenarios
You are beginning a life in which you are in control of your body and what you do (and don’t!) put in it. Everything else on this website is extra help, and it will. You don’t have to believe it, just follow my instructions. Remember, I can make you fit, but it’s up to you to take the simple daily actions that will make being fit and strong a habit and some habits were made to last a lifetime!
Closing Thoughts
Treat it like a calorie budget
“When you manage your own finances, you approach it with a long term sustainable outlook. You ensure you first cover your essential expenses like the house, bills, car, groceries etc, and use the remainder to save and spend on treats like movies and holidays.
It’s a good idea to have the same long-term outlook with your food intake. Just like we can’t afford to buy a car every week, we can’t afford to eat a whole pizza every weekend. If you eat beyond your calorie allowance, you accumulate a health debt in the form of excess body fat. Instead, you need to manage your calorie finances and budget your calories wisely by listening to your body signals.
Your appetite is like your incoming bills telling you when to spend, and your body’s food preferences are like your financial adviser telling you what to spend it on. Your recalibrated body signals will start advising you to spend most of your calorie budget on essential nutritional needs like vegetables, fruit, proteins, and essential fats. Then you are free to spend the remainder on treats like going out with friends and celebrations with the family. You can even earn more “income” into your calorie budget through exercise if you want a higher spending budget.
I personally love my baked slices, ice cream, and cookies. So once I’ve spent most of my calories on my essential nutrients, I have rougly 15% left of my intake for treats. This ensures my body signals stay strong and stable without disrupting it with too much sugar and processed foods. I also have found success in holding my treats until later in the day, if I’m still physically hungry. Below is a rough average distribution my food finances. “
My Food Finances
