When we discover that
we are heavier than we want to be, we have a natural inclination
to eat less food. We may skip lunch or eat only a tiny amount
of our dinner in the hope that if we eat less our body will
burn off some of its fat. But that is not necessarily true.
Eating less can actually sometimes make it more difficult
to lose weight because of the imbalance in your lifestyle.
Keep in mind that the human body took shape millions of years
ago, and at that time, there were no such things as diets,
let alone fad diets. The only low-calorie event in people's
lives was starvation. Those who could cope with a temporary
lack of food were the ones who survived. Our bodies therefore,
have developed this built-in mechanism to help us survive
in the face of low food intake.
Losing weight is not something you can do overnight. A carefully
planned weight loss program requires common sense and certain
guidelines. Unfortunately, there is a lot of misinformation
floating around and lots of desperate people are easily duped
and ripped off.
Collectively, we are heavier than ever. Partly it is because
we are more sedentary now than ever before. But equally as
important is the fact that the fat content of the western
diet has changed dramatically. And because it’s quicker
and easier than ever before to purchase junk food full of
saturated fat, people simply eat too much of it without considering
the health related problems of eating so poorly. In a lot
of cases it’s not until people are actually confronted
with the real possibility of something happening to them that
they take action and commence a dieting plan.
To reduce body fat there does need to be a focus on increasing
the amount of exercise that’s done and not just solely
on food intake. People who diet without exercising often get
fatter with time. Although a persons weight may initially
drop while dieting, such weight loss consists mostly of water
and muscle. When the weight returns, it comes back as fat.
To avoid getting fatter over time, increase the metabolism
by exercising regularly.
People do the right thing as far as starting to exercise
is concerned but they want instant gratification, it’s
the quick fix syndrome. Instead of looking at the long-term
picture and working on changing their overall lifestyle habits
to accommodate gradual weight loss, it’s the same old
thinking of I want it now. And because it doesn’t happen
now, they quit and any weight that has been lost goes straight
back on.
Weight loss will occur initially but generally it’s
only excess water weight that is lost and because the bodies
metabolism has slowed down, most of what’s eaten is
then stored as fat because the body is storing it for later
use (survival). When people then give up on their diet and
go back to eating what they were having before, they put the
weight back on as quickly as they lost it and gain more weight
because their metabolism is still working as slow as when
they stopped dieting.
If people sat down and mapped out a plan of what it is they
wanted from a change of lifestyle just as they would if they
were going on a holiday or building the dream home they always
wanted, then the majority of people wouldn’t fail. A
point to remember is that the more a person knows about themselves
in terms of what they’re doing before starting a weight
loss plan, can make a huge difference to their long term success.
Successful long-term weight loss comes from a combination
of all the things that have been mentioned in this article.
The chances of success for those people who implement any
of the ideas contained here are going to be far greater than
for those people who decide do something about their weight
problem based on a whim.
Mark Allan is a health, wellness and weight loss mentor and
author of the eBook “How to Eat and Drink What You Want
and Looook Great”. Log in and get a FREE personal online
weight loss profile at www.easilylookgreat.com
and find out what can be done to help you lose weight, gain
weight or maintain your weight by simply changing your lifestyle.
