From the author: Question everything. The article was written in 2008 and was useful to someone :)), maybe the readers of this site will find something in it for themselves, except what has already been voiced in the consonant topics of my colleagues. The program for restoring the energy balance. Preface. The human body is a unique biological system. From the moment of birth, it contains everything that is necessary for full functioning and energy exchange with the environment. Replenishment of the energy that the body draws from the environment is a vital function, a condition for maintaining internal and external balance body. Violation of this balance leads, if not to death, then to various diseases; including excessive exhaustion and obesity. Obesity, in turn, also entails a large number of physiological “troubles”, as well as serious psychological problems, which close the circle of psychosomatic diseases. That is why, even the most physiologically balanced diets, give, at best, only a temporary effect. It is not enough to bring your weight to the physiological norm. It is also necessary to change the internal psychological space - to make it comfortable. A new, normal weight is a new way of life and thought, and not just a new diet. It has long been known that only a healthy body is perceived by us as beautiful. What seems beautiful to us is that which is expedient, without shortcomings or excesses, that which is perceived as harmony. That is why people are ready to make any sacrifice, even risk death, for the sake of a beautiful figure. But by torturing ourselves on exercise machines, tormenting ourselves with hunger strikes, exhausting us with various kinds of diets, we expose our already traumatized psyche to new stress. Thus, we introduce an alarm signal into the consciousness and subconscious, which will be followed by compensatory reactions that return the metabolic problem “to normal.” And so, wanting to lose weight, and at the same time protect our body from the need to defend itself, we must set ourselves, first of all, the task of returning the feeling of physical and psychological comfort from consuming the required amount of food. Namely returning, because initially, from birth, it is well known to every person. If you don’t overfeed your child from the first days, by forcefully pushing an extra spoon into him “for dad, for mom,” then he eats exactly as much as his body requires. At the same time, he does not show any anxiety until he is really hungry. The accumulation of negative emotional experience, leading to distress, as already mentioned, causes compensatory reactions of the body, including the need to put up a defense of a certain property - a fatty pad between oneself and the world, a kind of buffer. Thus, an irresistible desire to eat something tasty or simply eat more appears when a huge amount of anxiety accumulates, as a result of experiencing constant stress. And, begins... a feeling of beauty - on the one hand, illness and all kinds of failure, associated with excess weight - on the other hand, all this, in turn, also stresses a person. This is how we find ourselves in a “vicious circle” of disturbed balance. It is important not just to want to lose weight. You need to prove to yourself that there is nothing wrong with this, and moreover, the restored energy balance brings pleasure and peace to the body. Entering the program. The first feeling that needs to be returned is the feeling of true hunger. This is one of the first tests on the path to harmony with nature. Try to start waiting for the feeling of hunger in the evening, after dinner (no later than 18-00). It will not come. If only it is possible to distinguish between acute neurotic attacks, eating and “sucking in the pit of the stomach.” In fact, if from the first minute (after the decision is made to get well), you begin to listen with tenderness and love to your true feeling of hunger, driven deep underground, almost immediately you will understand that there is no true hunger. Atherefore, you should not run to the refrigerator or cupboard because you want something else, because everything you ate did not bring relief. The need for positive emotions drags us into the kitchen, so the second task on the path to recovery is to audit your pleasures .And, if you manage to discover at least one more thing, besides the pleasure of eating food, immediately focus your attention on it. And you will notice how the “attack” recedes. It's worse if there are no other pleasures in your life. Then you will have to invent them. There is a deep rut laid in your psyche, into which it will be very difficult not to slide at first. Your brain will deceive you over and over again, all the time, substituting neurosis instead of hunger. Be carefull. Only the first days are hard. Very soon the panic will stop, because you will always be full. And the extra swallowed piece will become very unpleasant for you, unpleasant to the point of wanting to empty your stomach. And, by the way, be afraid to form another bad habit - eat as much as you like, and after half an hour bend over the toilet. In fact, it is a sin to transfer food. If you have extra food, share it with the hungry, there are many of them now.)) Beware of advertising of any food products, be sure to cover any food (with a lid, towel, etc.), hide it away in the cupboard sweets, and brush your teeth immediately (immediately!) after eating. With such simple techniques you will be protected from many conditioned reflexes to food that you have accumulated throughout your life. And so, the basis of the program: return the feeling of hunger and learn to distinguish it from the desire to enjoy eating an excessive amount of food or the desire to eat something tasty. And in the case of the second, learn to immediately switch to another activity you love. But only one that will truly captivate you completely and will not allow you to sneak a glance at your watch. Otherwise, everything is in vain - you suffer, accumulate tension, and it will make itself felt as soon as you put the first piece in your mouth. It’s not a fact that you can cope with it. All the time, inspire yourself with the thought: “I can eat anything, at any time.” moment, I have no reason to panic!” The main provisions of the program. Another very important condition is the process of chewing food itself. It is necessary once and for all to give up the habit of watching TV while eating, reading a book or just talking. Moreover, while eating you need to think only about food. Having put a small piece of food in your mouth, you need to chew it for a long time and thoroughly until the food will not lose its original taste and will not be abundantly and completely saturated with saliva. (At the same time, try to enjoy the food without being distracted by anything; at first it is useful to close your eyes.) Only after this can it be swallowed. It is this process of eating that will allow you to learn to eat little and fill up on small amounts of food. During the period of returning to normal weight, you need to eat the minimum amount of food possible for you; a regular breakfast for the whole day is quite enough. You can eat any food that is not contraindicated for you, without forbidding yourself anything. This is the main psychological positive aspect of this program. DIET is always one or another prohibition. In this sense, this program does not imply any restrictions. Of course, if you have diabetes or pancreatitis, the corresponding food remains prohibited for you. Another prohibited thing is overeating. A few small sips of kefir are enough for the feeling of hunger to disappear. Two to four tablespoons of rice or fried potatoes; 0.3 servings of soup, borscht or any other first course; A 1.0 cm piece of sausage or cheese, etc. is what you can eat in one sitting, but every 1.5-2 hours. Six to eight times a day you need to eat small portions. If you are between When you feel really hungry during meals, you can eat an apple, a handful of berries and any greens in unlimited quantities. Well, and of course, kefir. Even a liter of kefir a day will not prevent you from losing weight, the condition is the same - no more than 0.3 cups at a time, in smallsips, as if “chewing” even kefir. Let me remind you that even 2 tablespoons of rice must be eaten in 4-6 sips, chewing carefully and thoughtfully. And don’t forget! The signal for eating should only be a FEELING OF HUNGER. A feeling of slight hunger. Don’t awaken the beast in yourself by bringing the desire to eat to the point of passion. Passion is uncontrollable, and it will ruin good intentions to lose weight... You definitely need to write down (on any piece of paper, although it is very useful to keep a diary) what exactly you ate during the day. As already mentioned, in a day you should not eat more than a regular breakfast or, at least, lunch. Some peoples believe that the entire daily diet should fit in the palm of your hand. Here I am deliberately not talking about calories. A healthy body itself tells us HOW MUCH and WHAT TO EAT. BUT for those who are ready to monitor them daily, I advise you to pay attention not only to the minimum safe NORM for health (it varies among different authors), but also to the amount of proteins, carbohydrates, fats and vital vitamins necessary for the body every day. Buy yourself a scale from day one. Anything else will be called self-deception. Every day, when you get out of bed in the morning, you must make sure that your weight has at least not increased. If you manage to enter the program, accepting all the conditions at once, the weight will begin to slowly but steadily melt away from the very first week. Sometimes you will “hang” for several days on one number - “and this will pass.” The body panics, is afraid to let go of the extra pounds . Days like these will be difficult. Because the food is UNUSUAL. What you eat is clearly not enough to provide energy to a LARGE working body. And your brain forbade you to spend NZ - fat. Calm him down. Drink kefir, eat a bunch of parsley, eat any berry, chew cabbage. The main rule is that you eat at a time - no more than two to four tablespoons, and you really want to eat. Based on sad experience, I emphasize - do not drown out your hunger with sweets. You will fall into the clutches of addiction. This is almost as serious as alcohol and nicotine. By force of will, forbid yourself to eat more than one or two sweets a day. If you really want something sweet, eat dried fruits, apples, berries, honey, etc. That is, make up for the lack of glucose - with fructose, not sucrose. Avoid very salty foods for a while - it stimulates a “wild” appetite. Or immediately after eating a pickled cucumber (etc.), brush your teeth. By the way, it should be noted that if you work physically, you will have your own “minimum menu.” In a sense, this will be “separate nutrition”. If you eat bread, don't eat anything else. If soup is just soup. By the way, very soon you will start to like it - you will learn the true taste of food. The most high-calorie foods: lard, sausage, porridge with butter, cheese, sour cream, etc. should be eaten in the first half of the day. It is better not to eat after 18 hours. In any case, on the day when you ate at six in the evening, your weight will remain the same and in the morning the scale arrow will not please you. There is one very important nuance - you must be sure that your intestines are working. Ideally, it should work for every meal. That is, if you have three meals a day, the intestines should be cleansed three times. If you visit the toilet for this purpose only once a day, you have chronic constipation. This is ideal. Nowadays, it’s rare for anyone’s digestive tract to function so fully. The norm is one bowel movement per day. If it’s less, something definitely needs to be done about it. It’s better to decide what – with your attending physician. You definitely need to cleanse the body. I repeat - it is better to discuss the cleaning method with your doctor. If you are a mental worker, for a good effect and maintaining optimism, you need a daily walk at any time convenient for you at a moderate pace (you need to walk at least one kilometer). It is very important what and how much you drink . Everything is very individual. But purified water (at least three glasses a day) is absolutely necessary. A huge number of books have been written about the benefits of ordinary water. Who needs to make sure -!