Don't diet, just eat and lose weight!
First, the following "diet" is really not a diet, in the conventional sense, but a natural way of eating. It allows one to eat essentially anything one wishes, while attaining weight loss or weight control goals and consuming the necessary nutrients for a long and healthful life. The term "diet" implies restrictions by either eliminating or radically reducing the intake of certain foods or food groups. Most diets are inappropriate, unhealthful (some are even dangerous) and ultimately doomed to fail.
The most important objective of eating any food is to provide the body with all the essential nutrients for a long and healthful life. Almost every food provides some element needed by your body. If you do not care about being healthy, avoiding sickness and disease and living a long life, then this natural way of eating is not for you. The second most important reason for eating any food is because you enjoy it and it makes you happy. It is highly unlikely that you will consistently, and for long term, eat foods that you do not enjoy. Similarly, it is extremely unlikely that you will be able to completely eliminate foods that you do enjoy from your diet.
Many diets and dieticians expect a person to continually keep count of every calorie, carbohydrate and/or gram of fat that enters your mouth! Again, what is likelihood of being able to maintain this tedious ritual for any meaningful length of time? Nothing could be more depressing and stress-inducing as the constant monitoring of calories, carbs or fat. Therefore, if enjoying your meals is not important to you, then this natural way of eating is probably not for you.
Finally, you should eat food to maintain an appropriate weight for your height and frame. Being over-weight or under-weight is not conducive to a long, healthful life nor does it promote a positive self image. If being too heavy or too thin is not important to you, than this natural way of eating may not be for you.
Tips for Successful Weight Control
Lose or gain weight because you want to and not to please others.Otherwise, you will not be sufficiently motivated to change your bad eating habits. In fact, when the inevitable happens and you fail to achieve you goal, it will reinforce and, most probably, escalate the inappropriate behavior (i.e. over-eating, exclusively eating junk food, bulimia, etc.)
You must begin this natural way of eating with a positive outlook and the belief that you can achieve your goals with a minimal amount of effort. If you lack the self-confidence and motivation, or you do not believe that you can lose or gain weight, you will not!
It is extremely important for you to learn about the nutrients contained in the foods you eat. This is the only part of this natural way of eating that requires some effort on your part. The only way to accomplish this is to read. The internet is probably the best and easiest venue for obtaining this type of information. The following are excellent sources of health and nutrition-related information:
1) Medline Plus - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/foodnutritionandmetabolism.html
2) Food and Nutrition Information Center - http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/
3) McKinley Health Center - http://www.mckinley.uiuc.edu/
4) USDA Nutrient Data Laboratory - http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/
Remember, the key to weight control is to be healthy, happy and fit. You must understand which foods will provide these three, all-important elements. Believe it or not, there are foods which you enjoy that are actually good for you!
Incredibly, many overweight people actually do not eat enough! Listen to your body, not your mind. Your body knows when it has had the appropriate amount of food and, more importantly, the appropriate amount of nutrition. Because many people do not understand nutrition, they eat food that does not supply sufficient nutrients to the body. They will feel hungry even after a large meal because theirs bodies are "starving" for proper nutrition. For this reason, most diets do not work or the individual cannot stay with the diet because it is an unnatural way of eating. Your body literally believes it is starving; therefore, it will take actions to survive the famine. It is a self-preservation mechanism, if you will. The body begins drawing off your muscles and stores the fat for later use in the event that it does not receive the necessary nourishment for an extended period of time. When a person finally falls off the diet (which is inevitable), they gain back all the lost weight and, in many cases, even more! The reason is because it takes the body sometime to adjust from its self-preservation mode, so all the food that is consumed is stored as fat while your body continues to draw from muscle.
There is no such thing as losing weight fast. It will take 3 to 6 months (or more depending on the amount of weight loss needed),to lose a significant amount of weight. The good news is that once you have lost the weight, you should not gain it back because you will have learned about the food you eat.
Yes, you have heard it before and you are now going to hear it again - exercise! Even a small amount of exercise (1/2 hour per day, 3 days per week) will greatly accelerate weight control.
If you feel like having a snack or something sweet, have it. Your body is telling you it needs something. Of coarse, it would be better to eat a piece of fruit rather than a candy bar. However, either is preferable to over-eating at your next meal or agonizing over the decision to indulge the urge.
Dr. Parsons reveals the keys to successful weight loss in the remainder of this article, which you can receive absolutely FREE,by visiting Health Products USA (http://www.healthproductsusa.net)
Dr. William Parsons is the author of "Eating for Health, Happiness and Weight Control. A free condensed version has been made available to Health Products USA (http://healthproductsusa.net).
shuttle from Midway Glen Ellyn ..Fasting, when done properly, can be a basic part of... Read More
Gastric Bypass surgery is becoming increasingly more popular for the... Read More
Obesity, especially in children, is a matter of rapidly growing... Read More
One alternative method to traditional and tumescent liposuction is mesotherapy.... Read More
Being overweight is no laughing matter. For those who are... Read More
This Article was originally Published in The July 2004 Issue... Read More
When I decided to lose weight I of course decided... Read More
Make sure that no more than a quarter of your... Read More
What is low carb?We've all heard about the Atkins diet... Read More
We are a large people. 65% of us are overweight,... Read More
I believe that water not only helps with weight loss,... Read More
Are you overweight?Most people are afraid to admit they are.It... Read More
How do we know what we know? Often, our knowledge... Read More
Doctor, Why Can't I Loose Weight and by the... Read More
Twenty years ago, I did not expect to accomplish what... Read More
Let me tell you something - if you are doing... Read More
Not only was I fat, I was in poor health... Read More
I've talked to quite a few fellow gastric bypass patients... Read More
Any food that we take into our bodies is composed... Read More
Debunking The Ab MythAb training has been done to death... Read More
For many years, herbalists believe that Cayenne is the most... Read More
Thankfully, winter does not last forever! In the spring there... Read More
You and I know that getting plenty of support from... Read More
Low carb (carbohydrate), high protein diets are the latest ... Read More
Losing weight and keeping it off is much more than... Read More
shuttle from O'Hare North Chicago ..Yes and no. Moderate calorie restriction helps in controlling and... Read More
The main reasons most people have difficulty maintaining their ideal... Read More
According to Veronica Atkins, the widow of Dr. Robert Atkins,... Read More
I have put off writing a motivation article because of... Read More
If you are a fan of horse racing, you are... Read More
What's a Low Carb Diet Really Mean?When I hear low... Read More
WHAT DOES BEING FIT REALLY MEAN?The "INSIDE-OUT" approach to fitness... Read More
Contrary to common belief, your weight is not really the... Read More
One of the difficulties with dieting is the well known... Read More
Since gastric bypass weight loss surgery gives us a second... Read More
In the early nineties I had the opportunity to work... Read More
It all begins with water .... Water makes up 75%... Read More
The chemistry sounds very straightforward. Human body fat is a... Read More
An ancient practice from Eastern Medicine, bowel cleansing is fast... Read More
In order to identify hunger, you must first understand what... Read More
To really understand the impact of a protein diet, it's... Read More
Have you heard about coconut oil diets yet? People are... Read More
Ever notice how your best friend can lose weight on... Read More
The underlying principles of low carb diets are based on... Read More
If you've been enjoying life after gastric bypass surgery you... Read More
Do you struggle to maintain or lose weight? If so,... Read More
This is a perfect example of how on-line weight loss... Read More
I'm sick of all the fad diets I see people... Read More
I've worked with hundreds of people who were interested in... Read More
Everyone from politicians to parents is talking about fighting the... Read More
Weight Loss |