by Sarah Bar Asher – Head of Orot Israel College’s School of Naturopathy
The holidays announced that they are going on vacation right after Shavuot and not coming back until Rosh Hashanah. So, we might as well take advantage of this window of opportunity and turn our attention to weight control. Put it this way: Weight gain “stands” on three things: on absentminded eating, on clandestine eating, and on the “such-a-wastes.” Let me explain.
Absentminded eating:
At bedtime, a person may say that he did not eat all day, and he may sincerely believe that he is telling the truth. He is not lying. He simply was not there when the eating occurred.
If we eat while driving, talking, writing, or just standing around, we will not remember that we ate. Our memory will still be hungry, and as a result, we will want to eat again. Thus, unless we sat at the table and said, “Hineni muchan u’mezuman, I am hereby ready and prepared to fulfill the mitzvah of eating lunch…” (so what if there is no such blessing?!), it is as if we did not really eat. Of course, the calories added up, but our brain was not the one doing the counting. Rather, it was our fat cells.
Clandestine eating:
We are well-mannered people. We know that it is not polite to show everyone exactly how much and what we are capable of eating. However, it is important to be a fly on the wall when we are alone in the kitchen. Thus, when the ice cream calls from the freezer and pleads that it is cold and needs to warm up in your mouth, do not bring it home in the first place. Do not put it - or yourself – to the test.
The “such-a-wastes”:
It turns out that many people eat “such-a-wastes.” You know the type. They declare that Moshe’s leftover schnitzel is such-a-waste. Or that Yossi’s half-eaten sandwich is such-a-waste. You are not a vacuum cleaner. You deserve the most delicious food in the world, which means food that was prepared especially for you. Nothing else is as esthetically pleasing (i.e. not crumbled up), served at the right temperature (i.e. not cold), or as fresh (i.e. not dried out or wilted). And most importantly, it is counted by your brain, and therefore, it is not fattening (on condition, of course, that it contains nutritious ingredients).
Therefore, keep these three things in mind. And remember: nothing stands in the way of faith. No, that was not a typo. Because every overweight individual wants to become thin. But in order to achieve a healthy weight, wanting is not enough. One also needs faith. The problem is that most people do not believe that they are capable of controlling their weight. Therefore, they lose hope and despair, or they do not even bother trying. What can we do? Think about people who lost weight and managed to keep it off for many years. Tell yourself, “If they can do it, there is no reason why I can’t successfully accomplish my goal.” And indeed, there truly is no logical reason why you should not succeed. You just have to believe with your entire heart. If you believe, it will work. Admittedly, for every person who keeps the weight off, there are many others who turned their bodies into accordions. But you want to stay thin. So, stay positive, and forget about all the accordion players, even if you happen to be one yourself.
And finally, a good diet plan should be based on your own personal circumstances. It must take into account your metabolism, any medications you take on a regular basis, the results of your blood tests, your weight, your lifestyle, your budget, your daily schedule, and so on. Therefore, be sure to invest in a healthy meal plan that works for you.
