From personal experience I have myself like all of you at one time or another tried dieting. I have lost weight on some plans but in the long run was not able to sustain it. It seems as though every time I lost some weight I would gain it all back and then some. It was a never ending depressing cyle. The question you should ask yourself before attempting any diet is can I live with this for the long term? Another words can I incorporate this as part of my healthy lifestyle, day in and day out? And the reason most people can't is very simple. There are a number of reasons and i will name a few. When you deprive yourself of some of the foods you like human nature takes over you "resent it" food is suppose to be a pleasurable experience one of the many joys in life. How does it make you feel when you can't have something? Usually when people diet they lose energy. Your body is use to a certain amount of calories and now you cut down and you become lethargic and tired, and energy levels drop. Dieting lowers your metabolism. Your body will go into starvation mode making it harder and harder to achieve results. Dieting usually causes hunger signals to increase and we start to get cravings, and they are usually carb cravings and any excess sugar usually ends up around our waistline or hip area. Dieting creates a false sense of confidence because most of the time the more you diet the harder it becomes and now a sense of guilt creeps in everytime you eat a food on that forbidden list. Usually when you lose weight on a diet a lot of it is water, and muscle. At all costs you want to preserve muscle mass because in a resting state muscle burns more calories than fat. So again what have you really done here? Set yourself up for failure again. Have you ever seen a thin fat person???????? A person who looks like there at their proper weight but if you feel their body they are soft, soggy, and what I call fleshy. A high percentage of fat, even though they might be in a good weight range. On the other hand you see someone who weighs 250lbs. with 4-6% bodyfat and are mostly all muscle. Now they too as far weight goes may not fall into proper weight ranges, but as we all know muscle does weigh more than fat! This is why I don't believe in BMI (body mass index}. I really don't give it any relevence at all. That is in my humble opinion only. So what is the solution to the problem? The very first question you want to ask yourself is: Can I see myself sticking to this program or routine for life? If the answer is no forget it. If you can answer yes and live happily with your decision then you are onto something. Throw away the scale. Dump it. This is a microwave society if you don't see results quickly people usually lose interest. A better barometer of results is your clothes that have all of a sudden become too tight and uncomfortable. You have to understand that a lot of times following a sensible exercise and nutrition program weight will shift and the scale may not reflect it. Loss of inches and toning will. What is my game plan? Well I hate to be redundant but the only thing that works long term is regular and consistent physical activity and a sensible eating plan. Now I could tell you what to eat but I really feel that most people know what they have to do. And as far as exercise all I can say is do what you enjoy whether it is running, weightlifting, rebounding, tennis, rollerblading, skateboarding, it doen't matter. If you enjoy it you will be consistent. Dont do something just because it will burn more calories faster, you won't keep it up. I will share with you my personal strategy that has worked for me and I can live with it very comfortably. And i think most people could do the same. 1.) USE SMALLER PLATES: Instead of using normal dinner plates. This allows me to eliminate nothing! I eat everything. But I obviously don't eat as much of the food that is bad for me. SO I DON'T FEEL DEPRIVED. Pizza, ice cream, chips, etc. I think the word here is everything in MODERATION. 2.)Eat 5-6 times a day, instead of 3. I know it is hard just do it! This works well with the smaller plate concept. You will not be hungry if you eat every 2-3 hours. I bring cans of tuna with me on the road, apple, and string cheese. 3.) Doing this actually speeds up your metabolism. You will become a fat burning machine instead of a fat storing machine. 4.) Limit alcohol, all it really is a lot of sugar. If you need to have one the best are dry wines, scotch, and vodka. Avoid the mixers with sugars. Add water, soda water, or diet tonics. 5.) For snacks I like smoothies and protein drinks.By adding nutri-sweet/or vanilla extract It can curb carve cravings. Bananas are another excellent choice. 6.) Your exercise of choice. (MAKE AN APPOINTMENT WITH YOU). Treat it like any other priority. I like to see a minimum of 3 workouts per week. Make the time, and be consistent.Enjoy it! There you have it. (REMEMBER! IT IS A LIFESTYLE CHANGE) if you want long term results. Not a quick fix. |
