5 bite diet TIPS Part 3

This is part 3, other parts of this series:
Part 1 http://countyourbites.blogspot.com/2015/01/5-bite-diet-tips.html
Part 2 http://countyourbites.blogspot.com/2015/01/5-bite-diet-tips-part-2.html
Part 4 http://countyourbites.blogspot.com/2015/01/5-bite-diet-tips-part-4-how-big-is-bite.html
Part 5 http://countyourbites.blogspot.com/2015/02/5-bite-tips-part-5-cayenne-pepper-to.html

Tip #11  Weigh everyday and track your Weight    This is a controversial topic. I recommend weighing daily. Some trackers that I use and recommend are  Happy Scale app (free) Happyscale.com  OR  TrendWeight.com . These use a moving average for tracking, and help us not to be too discouraged if the scales does not drop every single day. IT is proven in studies that people who weigh everyday lose TWICE the weight that people who do not. You will look forward to jumping on the scales as the weight melts away with the 5 bite diet!  Link to some info about weighing daily here http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20051118/daily-weigh-in-may-help-dieters-lose





Tip #12  Expect your weight to drop every 1-3 days or so. It might drop
 daily  for the first week.  After that it might go up, stay the same for a few days and then suddenly you will drop again. Read about the "whoosh" affect. This is similar to what I experienced while counting bites. So DON'T GIVE UP even if you are doing 5 bite perfectly and it does not drop for a few days, because it will if you are faithful! See the next tip about Plateaus 




Tip #13  Plateaus  yep, they happen to almost everyone. But don't be discouraged. There are a few things you can do.

                   1. How big are your  bites? Are they too big? Dr.  Lewis                 
                            recommends taking small bites. 1 Tablespoon is equal to about
                            1 bite.  1 snicker bar = 5 bites. Buy a snicker bar and cut it into
                            5 pieces. How do your bites compare?

                   2. Consider trying Cayenne Pepper 3-4 days a week   in 
                           addition to your 5 bite meals. More info on that in this blog
                           post here http://countyourbites.blogspot.com/2015/02/5-bite-tips-part-5-cayenne-pepper-to.html

                   3. Try eating a little more 1-2 days a week to change things up. I
                            ate 40 bites on Saturdays and Sundays each and was still able to 
                           lose 5-6 lbs some weeks. Read this blog post about changing up 
                          your bites   http://countyourbites.blogspot.com/2013/11/shift-your-bites.html Read this post to see how I ate more on weekends and still lost 
                          most weeks http://countyourbites.blogspot.com/2014/01/here-is-diary-of-each-days-aprox-bites.html Your body needs a break from 10 bites a day                             sometimes all it takes is a little shift to eat a bit more a day or so, to 
                          help shake things up a bit!

                  4.Exercise. This is actually not recommended by Dr. Lewis. But I 
                          exercised about 4 miles a day halfway or more into my journey. I
                          used hand weights alot and Leslie Sansone videos. This kept the 
                          scales moving downward. I did this in a fasting state usually.

                 
                  5. Try One  5 bite meal instead of 2.  If you do this for a few days 
                              or more to help break the plateau. Some people also just do 5 
                             bites per day and it helps lose faster. The doctor says this is ok
                             to only eat 1    5 bite meal instead of 2. 




                  




Tip #14  Falling off the Wagon    It happens to all of us.  Jump back on! Never give up!  Your mind will catch up with the small portions you are feeding your body!  Here are a few tips if you just simply  cant seem to stick to 5 bites
   
                  1. Consider starting with more than 5 bites and gradually 
                      decreasing.  This is what worked for me and I see others on 
                       5 bite support groups successfully doing that. They pick a higher
                       number of bites and decrease as they feel comfortable. Some start
                      with 5 bites 3 times  a day (15) others start with more than that, like
                       40 bites etc. You can see how I decreased my bites gradually here
                       http://countyourbites.blogspot.com/2014/01/here-is-diary-of-each-days-aprox-bites.html


                       2. Consider doing more than 5 bites long term. I know of 
                        of someone who made 6-7 bites Twice a day work for them, and they
                        liked this better than 5 bites Twice a day. The main thing is BE
                        CONSISTENT!  Even Dr. Lewis says you can do more than 5 bites
                        in the book!

                       3. Consider allowing yourself more bites on weekends. This
                            is what I did, I talked about this in Tip # 13.  By being Reasonable
                            and allowing more bites , it helped "set up for success" , instead
                           of feeling like a failure for not sticking to 5 bites. A good goal is to 
                           eat no more than 18-25 bites per meal on those Higher days OR no
                           more than 30-40 a day. Same link as above, but it talks about the
                           same things as what I talk about here http://countyourbites.blogspot.com/2013/11/shift-your-bites.html

 

                       4. Consider trying The Fast-5 and 5 bite diet combined.  This
                           allows you to add in healthy fruits and veggies (unlimited) and 5 
                          bites of calorie rich food 2x a day all inside a 5 hour eating window.
                          This helps you feel full and more satisfied than 5 bites alone! You 
                          can read all about it in this post here http://countyourbites.blogspot.ca/2014_12_01_archive.html