|
Staying Thin with the "Right" Diet
Find a diet that is
practical, nutritious and in-balance with your everyday
energy requirements. Do this, and you are guaranteed
success!
News Flash! This “just
in” hot off the presses…
Researches now say that
that Atkins and other low-carbohydrate diets do not
help when it comes to staying thin. In a comparison
between low-carbohydrate, low fat and reduced calorie
diets, all participants started to regain weight after
six months, and by twelve months there was little difference
between the groups. "There is no clear evidence
that Atkins-style diets are better than any others for
helping people stay slim, despite the popularity and
apparent success of the Atkins diet," says Professor
Arne Astrup of RVA University in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Ok…so maybe this is
a bit melodramatic, but it drives home a point. We are
living in a world of dietary confusion, a Land of Oz
and make-believe, where facts are hard to find and commercial
diets aim to keep us in a confused state and distract
us from the truth. This is just one of the many barriers
that people face when trying to lose weight.
So how are we expected
to deal with all this dietary misinformation? Here is
a suggestion. Ignore the hype, find a safe and healthy
diet that makes good common sense, and stay with the
plan for life. While this might not seem like any great
revelation, it’s amazing how many dieters beat
their heads against the wall struggling to lose weight,
hoping that “this time” the results will be
different. My friend, if this describes your experience
with dieting, you are following the wrong plan and need
to consider a different approach.
Think back for a moment
about how many times you have heard that to lose weight
you must be “disciplined” in your approach.
Or to put it another way, to lose weight you must be
willing to just give up eating your favorite foods (like
ice cream) and dining at your favorite places (yes,
those fast foods are definitely out of the question).
If this ill-advice actually worked, The U.S. National
Center for Health Statistics would no longer rank obesity
as one of their leading health problems!!
It’s not that Atkins,
Weight Watchers, South Beach or any other weight loss
plan can’t help us to lose weight. Ask almost anybody,
and they will tell you it’s a snap to lose a few
pounds. And, in fact, it is! We have no problem at all
losing weight on virtually any diet. The problem surfaces
its ugly head when we step on the scale six months down
the road. Our high hopes and aspirations for losing
weight get crushed when we realize that our weight,
like the prodigal son of Biblical report, has found
its way back home.
Take a moment to consider
this fact: According to a nationwide survey (Gardenburger
Inc.) it is estimated that more than three-quarters
of all women between the ages of 25 and 54 make a decision
to lose weight each year. In this same survey, nine
out of ten respondents reported disappointing long-term
results (some respondents actually gained weight instead).
You see, losing weight
is easy! Anyone on basically any diet can lose weight.
The difficult and tricky part is in keeping the pounds
from creeping back-on over time.
We’ve been misled
with just about every possible explanation and cause
for gaining weight, ad-infinitum. If it’s not our
lack of commitment, then it’s our low self esteem,
failing to plan, or for some other reason. You name
it, and there’s an explanation out there! But,
the truth be known, when it comes to getting and staying
slim, most of these “explanations” don’t
make much sense.
What really, really matters
in the long run is whether our everyday eating habits
and energy intake are in-balance with our everyday energy
expenditure.
The reason 95% of commercial
diets eventually fail is because they violate this simple
principle. They are designed for the “quick fix”,
not for normal everyday eating that can last a lifetime.
Most commercial diets require additional time and effort
to start and follow, and worse, attempt to deprive us
of our favorite foods and stop us from eating at our
favorite restaurants.
With our busy schedules
and increasing demands both at home and work, trying
to find even an extra 10 minutes a day can be a challenge.
Spending hours, or even days trying to adjust to a new
diet plan is not only unrealistic, but is a total waste
of precious time!
We all love the novelty
and intrigue of trying something different and starting
the next new “fad” diet plan is no exception.
But unfortunately, the outcome for most of these plans
is unsatisfactory. Once the novelty and excitement wear
off we’re usually right back to where we started.
Attempts to force-fit changes
in our diet generally follow a pattern that goes something
like this…
- We start a new diet program.
Excitement runs high, we are motivated to the max, the
pounds are dropping like crazy, and the World is a wonderful
place.
- Our busy schedule gets
even busier. There are kids to take care of, bosses
to satisfy, and of course there are always those new
diet guidelines to learn and follow.
- At some point we find
ourselves smack-dab in the middle of a time management
crisis, and looking for ways to save time.
- We decide to skip a few
of the time consuming “special” diet meals
and recipes “just this once”.
- Our “stash”
of diet foods starts getting depleted, there’s
no time for a full-blown grocery shopping experience,
and we make the inevitable run to our local convenience
store instead (ops……how did those snacks get
into the grocery cart anyhow?).
…and so goes the story.
We soon find that the restrictions, regulations and
requirements of our new diet are incompatible with our
normal eating habits. Before we even realize what’s
happening we’re back to our old unhealthy, but
more convenient way of eating. And the pile of dieting
books and other special dieting paraphernalia we spend
our hard earned money buying continues to grow.
The moral of the story
is this; beware of diets that come loaded with all sorts
of gimmicky and strange requirements and attempt to
change our normal eating behavior. They are doomed to
failure right from the start.
Find a diet that is practical,
nutritious and in-balance with your everyday energy
requirements. Do this, and you are guaranteed success!
1howto.com
--------------------------------------------------
Please
Share Your Tips with Us
|
