Are you anxious to shed some extra pounds but find it difficult to find a method which succeeds for you?
Has dieting and exercising not worked or do you just lack willpower when it comes to the long haul? If so, maybe it’s time to look at other options.
Local life coach, therapist and trainer Diarmuid Lavelle who is the author of The Sensual Slimmer presents a radical new approach to effective slimming.
His book does not tell you what to eat, it shows you how to eat so you consume less and enjoy your food more.
“Most people know what to eat and what sort of exercise they should be doing but they are not doing it,” he says.
So, how do we lose weight? The formula is simple, eat less food and do more exercise. “Basically this amounts to less energy in, more energy out. What is so complex about that and why, for a lot of us, is it so difficult to do? The answer is our attitude. Instead of being preoccupied with what we eat, we need to take a new approach - to food, our bodies and how we eat. Of course what we eat is important but if we get the process right - how we eat - then it is easy to manage the content - what we eat.”
Eating and exercise
There are three main factors in weight loss, attitude, eating and exercise, he explains.
“It seems the world wants to slim yet with conventional methods we are not doing a good job. Why does it have to be such a struggle? Attitude is a big problem but not the only one.
“There is also the problem of how we eat. That and what we eat are two important processes that have been all but lost in our modern society. We have turned into carnivores, wolfing our food down with the minimum of natural processing. The average amount of chews people give their food is around 10 per mouthful. Most people who are overweight chew much less than this. If food is not chewed properly our bodies become unaware of how much we have ingested.”
He explains there are about 9,000 taste buds on the tongue. “These act as monitors which count the amount of fats, sugars, salts, proteins and starches that we ingest. When we do not chew and eat too fast the tastebuds cannot count this so we eat too much because we are unaware. The body knows how much it needs if we allow it to do its job.
“The problem with exercising only to slim is that it becomes a form of punishment and loses its purpose. In general, people are either too severe on themselves and fail to exercise because they think they can’t do it properly or they avoid it because it’s too painful. The focus of exercise needs to be on joy, intelligence and cleaning the body, these are important by products. It is a mistake to exercise solely to slim because it can create negative connotations which have negative results.”
Eat too quickly
Up to 99.9 per cent of people who are overweight eat too quickly, he maintains.“If we eat too fast we will choose foods with a higher salt, fat, sugar content because these are the foods we have time to taste. The problem of obesity and being overweight will change if we learn how to eat. If we chew our food well we taste it, enjoy it and we will not eat too much of it. Almost everyone knows the difference between healthy food and unhealthy food. We need to focus on how to eat not what to eat. When people chew and enjoy their food they automatically go for healthier foods as the tastes of unhealthy foods become overpowering.”
He says there are three powerful habits which contribute not only to successful weight loss but to happiness in the process.
“These are enjoying and tasting food, a positive attitude towards ourselves and our bodies and body movement for good feelings. The slimming process is actually hard wired into the human body if we give it a chance.”
Quality of life
He says the secret to successful slimming is to focus on improving your quality of life and let slimming become a beneficial side effect.
“Dieting, disliking our bodies and arduous exercise routines actually go against the way normal people function. I believe in turning the whole process around so the results are permanent. The process of enjoying food, exercise and liking our bodies also works on increasing self esteem, confidence, and overall quality of life.”
Diarmuid Lavelle stresses an effective slimming strategy is not based on slimming but on an increase in quality of life.
“This is essentially a matter of realising what is actually uplifting rather than what society, advertising or other people perceive as enjoyable. For example, you might like a light salad and a glass of water but if that is all we are going to eat because we feel we are too fat then we are not going to enjoy it very much. Exercise feels good but if we exercise because we do not like our bodies the way they are, it is a punishment rather than a pleasure. To be constantly focused and negatively obsessed with how we are not looking, comparing ourselves to others, constantly nagging ourselves about food and not enjoying it - is no quality of life.”
Diarmuid discovered the sensual slimming process after a cleansing diet in 1997 and applied and perfected the process since then.
“The reason why the method is so poweful is that it is about the process (how we eat ) and not the content (what we eat ). Conventional slimming programmes are all caught up with - the content - which is why they are only partially successful. Focusing on the content and not the process is putting the cart before the horse. Unless we get the process (how to eat ) right there is little chance of getting the content (how much and what to eat right ). How do we put on weight? Simple - by being unaware of our feelings and eating like carnivores. If, on the other hand, we get in touch with our bodies they will let us know how much we need. It is important to be kind and good to ourselves. This does not include stuffing food into our bodies. Eating too fast causes eating too much, most people in our society eat too fast and too much - and they do so with too little sensual awareness.”
He offers the following insights:-
Eat your way to slimness
* “Food and eating are sacred. You are a sacred being so treat yourself like one. Focus on increasing the quality of your life and the life of those around you. Eating food by chewing it thoroughly and enjoying the tastes and textures is elegance in itself.”
* The mechanical breakdown of food in the mouth is the most important part of the digestive process. If we chew our food well we eat more slowly.
* Attitude is important - a positive, rational one brings success. “What we think about comes about. If we think about ourselves being fat then so be it. If we think about ourselves as slim and enjoying life, so be it. The conscious mind makes the target and the unconscious mind follows it.”
* It is not effective to use affirmations, open thinking and imagery without feelings because the latter drive the engines of desire
* “Change is a human being’s most scary word. We work hard at making life into a habit so that we can live comfortably and don’t have to think too much. Some people die in their thirties and are buried in their seventies! They make life too predictable and too safe. Happiness has a little to do with challenge and effort. We can be very comfortable and very miserable if action and challenge are not part of our lives.”
* The Sensual Slimmer costs €12.95 and is available from Easons, Galway, Hughes & Hughes nationwide, health shops and from all international online book stores such as amazon.co.uk and bn.com
