5
Life with the ELMM
During the first week, wear the ELMM at all times for maximum simplicity. Do not worry
about trying to change your eating or moving habits right away. Take this time to measure
your current habits. Practice the habit of remembering to start the ELMM bite counter for
every meal.
During the second week, review your bite and step counts from the first week. Look
for patterns. How many bites and steps do you take on a typical day? Do you eat more
on weekends compared to weekdays? What is your typical meal pattern? Do you normally
eat three times a day? Use these typical bite numbers and step numbers to set your goals.
In studies, goals of a 20% increase in steps and a 20% decrease in bites have been used to
achieve weight loss of 1 lb per week. But, feel free to start with a smaller goal at first and
change your goal later. Set a daily bite limit and a daily step goal using the ELMM software.
Try to reach these goals every day! At first you will probably feel hungry, depending on the
difficulty of the goal you have set. It is okay if you are not perfect. Just work to get closer
and closer to your healthy eating goal.
During the following months, maintain perseverance! Keep your eyes on the results you
want to see. Take just a couple fewer bites at each meal. Learn to push the plate away and
avoid the compulsion to clean your plate every time. Small changes add up over time. As
you develop the habits of self-monitoring - and eating less and moving more - you should
see progressive weight loss happening. If you like, keep a personal photo album of your
progress to encourage you along the way! Remember, weight gain does not happen in a day.
It happens over weeks, months, and years. Sustainable weight loss will also take weeks and
months. The idea is to change your lifestyle to establish the new ELMM you!
