Michelle May, M.D., was a “yo-yo dieter” for most of her adolescence and early adulthood–up 10 or 20 pounds one year and down 10 or 20 the next. The Phoenix, Ariz.-based physician had started dieting at age 13. Two decades later, she began to pay attention to her behaviors around food and realized that she often turned to food for reasons that had nothing to do with meeting her nutritional needs.
“Like a lot of physicians, one of my common triggers for eating was stress,” said Dr. May, who developed a weight-management system called, “Am I Hungry?”
“I recognized that when I felt like eating cookies or chocolate, that was a signal to me that there was something else that I needed.” She realized that stress, overwork, and tiredness were common triggers for her hunger.
Whenever you have an urge to eat, Dr. May recommends asking yourself a “deceptively simple” question: “Am I hungry?”
To achieve success in your food and exercise choices, Dr. May also advises asking yourself, “How am I going to fit this into my schedule? How do I do this in a way that's sustainable, which means not depriving myself?”
Dr. May is coauthor of the book “Am I Hungry? What to Do When Diets Don't Work” (Nourish Publishing: Phoenix, 2005), available at www.AmIHungry.com
Margaret A. Weiss, M.D., can identify with the notion of not depriving oneself.
Over the past 2 years, she lost about 40 pounds and reached her desired weight of 145, but she isn't about to give up on having a little chocolate or wine now and then.
“If I'm really feeling the urge for chocolate, then I'll have a very nice piece as opposed to eating a whole candy bar,” said Dr. Weiss, a dermatologist in group practice in Hunt Valley, Md.
“Sometimes people like me, who struggle with their weight, will think too much about a particular food. If you're fantasizing about having chocolate and you don't let yourself have it, then there's a tendency to eat too much of it if you do have some,” she added.
Two things precipitated her weight loss: approaching age 50 (“I didn't want to be fat at 50,” she said) and having an emergency appendectomy in the summer of 2003. She lost about 8 pounds after surgery, but the experience forced her to evaluate her eating habits.
“During the postop period, you start with liquids and then [what you can consume] is gradually built up, so there is some enforced dieting there,” she said.
Once she was able to eat regular foods, she began to reduce portion sizes and limit her intake of carbohydrates and processed foods. Some of her change in thinking came with the realization that she didn't have to eat as much as her three teenage sons.
“For a portion of protein at dinner, it's probably in the range of 6 ounces of a lean meat,” said Dr. Weiss, who is about 5 feet 10 inches tall. “I have fish [and] chicken 2–3 times a week and steak about once a week.”
She's also made an effort to cook with olive oil, to limit salt intake, and to use fresh ingredients, such as basil and ground pepper.
As for exercise, she tries to walk 2–3 times a week for 15–30 minutes and works out on an elliptical machine at home on weekends. “We're not talking major exercise here,” she said.
The way she sees it, maintaining a healthy weight “takes an ongoing and lifelong commitment” to exercise, portion control, and paying attention to total calorie intake.
Hamburgers were only a snack for Dr. Nick Yphantides, before his weight loss journey.
In a year, he visited every major league ballpark in the U.S. and lost 270 pounds. Photos courtesy Dr. Nick Yphantides
Ten Steps to Help Manage Your Weight
Stumped about how to get a handle on managing your weight? Consider starting with these 10 steps recommended by Dr. May:
1. Let go of the idea that there is a perfect diet that will finally solve your problems. The answer lies within you.
2. Whenever you have an urge to eat, instead of focusing on the food, first ask yourself, “Am I hungry?” Remember that hunger is a physical feeling.
3. If you are hungry, try to make the best possible choice to satisfy your body and your soul. Learning about nutrition and keeping tasty, healthy food on hand make this step easier.
4. Remember that there are no “good” or “bad” foods. You are less likely to overeat certain foods if you know that you can have them again.