Why losing weight isn’t the solution

New years resolutions are tricky and the goal to finally shed a few pounds often goes unfilled. Instead, our health columnist Lisa Fuchs recommends a new approach.

Happy new year! Let me guess – one of your new years resolutions was to finally lose those extra pounds or kilos from your waist / thighs / bottom. It is probably the most common sentence said in the western world. “I need to lose some weight!”

The thing is, wanting to lose weight is a bad motivation for basically anything. You are sitting there with a glass of wine in your hand thinking you shouldn’t really drink wine because you need to lose some weight. The dessert menu is being passed around and everybody else is ordering cake or ice cream but you know “you really shouldn’t – because you need to lose some weight.” Either you stick to your plan and feel deprived, or you give in to your craving and possibly feel horrible afterwards. And either way – you won’t notice a difference on the scale that night.

The problem lies in the motivation. Weight is just a number. If you eat healthy and work out a lot you might even gain weight as you gain muscles, which can be very frustrating if you only focus on that number.

Let’s change the approach this year. Instead of saying you want to lose weight, decide to let yourself gain health. I promise this is much more fun! And more effective. Now, you have a positive goal and a positive mindset. You are not depriving yourself anything – you are giving yourself a gift!

Back in the restaurant, with that glass of wine in your hand. Does the wine make you feel good? You might find that it relaxes you and puts a smile on your face. Well great! Your goal is health, and having a nice evening will be a good start. The important part now is to see that while one glass of wine might be just what you need – two glasses will not make you feel better. Stop at one glass. Enjoy that glass and keep your goal in mind. Here comes the dessert menu now. And suddenly, when your goal is health, the decision to skip dessert is so much easier to make. The reward is instant. You know very well that the Dame Blanche, crème brûlée or slice of gâteau au chocolate will not make you feel good, or healthy, afterwards, while a cup of herbal tea or a coffee might do the trick. Your choice now is not based on an abstract number but on how it makes you feel. And that good feeling is your gift to yourself.

The same goes for every meal you eat, every snack you choose and every walk or run you take. Will this make me feel good and healthy? Quite easy to measure and very easy to decide. The best part is, once you get a hang of it, feeling healthy turns out to be quite addictive! Just keep going and that weight will eventually come off without much effort.

And because this year is about giving yourself good stuff, here is an easy recipe for a delicious and very healthy raspberry chia pudding. Perfect for breakfast or as a bring-along snack if you fill them into small jars with lids.

In a bowl mix:

• 400 ml (1.6 cup) coconut milk,

• 200 ml (0.8 cup) raspberries (mash them first with a fork),

• 100 ml (0.4 cup) chia seeds

• and 1 teaspoon vanilla powder.

Leave to swell for 20 minutes, stirring every now and then. Fill 3-4 small bowls, glasses or jars and place them in the fridge for at least another 30 minutes – or over night for instant breakfast next morning! Top with fresh berries, banana, nuts or even chopped dark chocolate. Enjoy and feel great!

Lisa Fuchs is the author of “Delicious grain free baking”. She also writes about healthy and creative baking, under the name Liesel on her blog: lieselathome.com

You will not find sugar or gluten in any of her recipes and most of them are also lactose free.

Credits:

Article and Food photography by Liesel Fuchs:  lieselathome.com  & @liesel_at_home

This post first appeared in the Luxembourg Wort English – luxtimes.lu