On a diet? Lose emotional eating
If he’s good enough to be Oprah’s personal trainer and food muse, surely he’s got some tipsfor the rest of us. In his book “The Best Life Diet,” exercise physiologist and fitness author Bob Greene expands on his signature concept: Weight loss is a lifetime commitment that starts within.
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Are you seeing changes in the way people are approaching food and exercise?
We are seeing an increase in the purchasing of nutrition-rich foods and the corresponding offering of better food choices in the grocery stores such as whole grains, fresh fruits and veggies, and we’re seeing more lower sodium, lower sugar and lower “bad fat” products. As for the exercise side of the equation, I think we have done all we can as a society to take activity out of our day-to-day life. From taking physical education out of the schools to relying on the modern conveniences of the computer and e-mail to not designing sidewalks in new neighborhoods.
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You focus on increasing activity, learning to properly gauge hunger and getting to the root of emotional eating. How did you arrive at this idea of emotional eating?
Having worked with clients for over 25 years, it became apparent -- luckily a while ago -- that many people were obsessed with saving 40 or 50 calories by, say, consuming a diet drink, then proceeding to consume hundreds or even thousands of excess calories comforting themselves from life’s challenges.
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What one thing is the most important rule of dieting?
The most profound eating rule is to eliminate most of your emotional eating, and the best place to start is to eliminate eating that occurs within two hours of bedtime.
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You mention in your new book that people who tend to succeed at long-term weight loss are generally those who’ve done some serious soul-searching. That sounds simple enough, but how do you get from A to B?
First, you need to identify what areas of your life have been challenging and understand that eating to comfort yourself is simply using food as a drug -- a drug that prevents you from resolving what is “off” in your life.
You then replace this addiction with some behaviors that will get you closer to the life you really want. For example, instead of eating, take a class, take a walk, improve a relationship (or a job) or get out of one that is damaging. Look deeper into improving your finances, expose yourself to opportunities that help you meet other people. Changing how you live your life is the hard work -- harder than getting on a treadmill or turning down foods that get you into trouble.
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If you were forced to recommend just one single strength exercise, what would that be?
To recommend one, you really need to know if the person has any physical limitations. But with that said, I would start with abdominal crunches, as it is the area most deficient in an inactive population.
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