FEED YOUR BODY RIGHT: SHE STOPPED “CLEANING UP” AND LOST THE LAST 10
For Sharon Poppendeck, having her second child at age 39 was a welcome joy. But the postpregnancy pounds that lingered a year later were just plain unwelcome.
Sharon had read that metabolism starts to slow at around age 40. But the Indianapolis resident couldn’t understand why the extra 10 pounds that had accumulated around her belly and thighs just wouldn’t go away, no matter how hard she tried to shed it.
Puzzled, she began scrutinizing her eating habits like a scientist searching for a new discovery. Healthy foods? Yes. Snacks? No. She didn’t even eat when she took the kids for their favorite fast-food meals. Or did she?
Sharon didn’t usually order, but she did eat—everything the kids didn’t. “I’d just pick it up and finish it so I didn’t have to throw it out,” she says. “I didn’t even notice that I was doing it.”
Now, when she takes the kids out for fast food, she eats her typical healthy meal beforehand so that she’s not tempted to finish their leftovers. And forget the guilt about throwing away food. Into the garbage it goes!
Sharon also made another discovery and adopted a no-eating policy in her car. “I would always carry little snacks with me in case the kids got hungry,” she says. “The problem was that every time I gave them a handful of crackers, I ate a handful, too!” She still carries snacks for her children, but she herself doesn’t eat them.
Sure enough, the weight came off. And Sharon, now age 42, says that it has remained off, thanks to her bit of detective work.
WINNING ACTION
Leave the leftovers. Unlike what you may have learned growing up, you are not a human garbage disposal. So don’t feel compelled to eat your kids’ or grandkids’ leftovers. If you can’t bear to throw out uneaten food, wrap it up and put it in the refrigerator for later. In restaurants, request a doggie bag—unless you’re going to be too tempted to eat the leftovers yourself. In that case, let the waiter take it away.
*41\89\8*
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Tags: Weight Loss