Why Diets Fail and Life Changes Succeed

By: Kimberly Myl 

We have all heard of dieting. There have been all types of diets out there in the past decade alone. Each one promising you that great beach body, the new healthy you! Whichever fad diet you chose to try, you will almost undoubtedly lose some weight. Common to all diets, if you combine with regular exercise regimen, will find better results.

Two problems with diets are they are not developed as a long term regiment. Most people, who use a specific diet will relapse, give up, quit and regain the weight and in some cases gain even more. Why is this? One of the biggest things you will hear with a diet, “Do not eat…” “You cannot eat….” and so on.

You are given a strict regimen of food you can consume and instructions on how to follow there guidelines and you will lose weight. What diets do not do, is teach you how to sustain a healthy form of eating. Without mentioning specific names of diets out there these days, we will touch up on how diets only set you up for failure and that learning how to eat anything you want in moderations and how life changes are your key to not only weight loss, but maintaining that weight and overall health.

There are diets that say 0 carbs! Stay away from carbs and you will lose weight! So you stay away from pasta, breads, cereals and other grains. What they do not tell you is there are plenty of foods that are healthy that contain carbs, peas, corn, bananas. These diets do not explain the difference between processed carbs and natural carbs. Ok, so carbs are back on the table. How about the diet that tells you it is ok to eat all the fatty, salty red meats you want. Sure, I would love that! What isn’t explained is all those meats, mostly cured, are loaded with salt. Salt retains water and will make it difficult to lose that weight.

One of the biggest reasons people quit diets is because they miss the foods they are told they cannot have. They finally cave and indulge in the forbidden foods that their diets will not allow them to have. Once they sink their teeth into those wonderful foods they have missed, they chose that temporary taste satisfaction over the strict diet that tells them “Do not eat” “You cannot eat”.

So how exactly do we lose weight and maintain it for the long haul? Well one thing remains the same; you need to introduce an exercise routine. The biggest key to success in weight loss is not dieting, but changing the way you eat. When you deprive yourself of your favorite foods, you will not succeed. So “DO EAT…” eat anything you want. Just eat in moderations. Portion, Portion, Portion.

It roughly takes 30 minutes for the message to go from your stomach to your brain that you are full. What do humans usually do? We eat until we feel full, then we are happy and satisfied. So that means about a ½ hour later we have gone from feeling satisfied to feeling uncomfortably full or even maybe unbuttoning our pants. If you learn to properly portion your foods and eat small meals, you will suddenly realize you aren’t eating as much, but still eating all the foods you want. Less intake of foods with your exercise routine will result in weight loss. Now you are losing weight and still eating the foods you love so much.

So which do you think would last a lifetime and give you that success of having that slim body for all 4 seasons, not just a summer body? Throw away those “Do Not Eat…”, and eat your favorite foods, just in moderation and proper portion sizes.

Like this article? Check out 18 Simple Ways to Lose Weight Without Trying. 

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