Healthy Weight Loss Tips
Three Common Hazards to Avoid in Dieting
by Barbara Silberman
Dieting, losing weight and getting healthier are frequently the top resolutions for the New Year. But they also seem to be the hardest of resolutions to fulfill. Has it been on your list in the past few years? Did it work out for you? If not, let’s review three common hazards to avoid in dieting and their effects.
The first big hazard in dieting is falling for one of the quick and easy off-the-shelf diets. These diets come as pills, liquids or even recipes in magazines. Most of these diets promise that you will drop a pant size or more within a few weeks. “Fit into that bathing suit by the Summer”, is what they are catching you with in springtime. The soup will make you lose weight, or so they say.
We fall for these good sales pitches, for that is what they are, because we really do want to lose that weight, and as easily as possible. However, it takes a strong will to stick to a plan and requires that we be consistent, work hard and do some exercise. Many of us fall down in one or more of these areas and succumb to the temptation of a few sweets or some other high calorie food we set our eyes on.
Hence, the thought of a magic pill or drink that will dissolve our excess fat with little work sounds too good to miss. We know that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is and yet we still fall for it. Even if we happen to lose some weight given our initial enthusiasm, the weight just seems to come back and then some.
A second pitfall, is trying to nearly starve ourselves by dramatically cutting back on food. This is a tough proposition when we are food lovers and our body does not like such a fast change. Cutting out food does not work.
When cutting out most foods altogether, we miss out on healthy nutrients for our bodies. Vitamins and minerals are essential for the body as well as many other nutrients that are found in healthy foods. Instead of not eating, go for cutting down the amount of food. The best way to avoid this dieting hazard is to exchange unhealthy foods with healthy ones by a change of lifestyle. Go for a fruit, vegetable and grain rich diet and try to cut out all the high fat and high calorie foods.
Then comes, the well-known yo-yo effect. Despite feeling better with ourselves because we have lost some weight with our ‘new diet plan’, we get fed up with the boring formula meals and desire some ‘real food’. We soon get back into our bad eating habits and the weight just piles back on, leaving us heavier than before.
Our body’s hormones actually regulate our weight loss. After a period of limited food, our bodies hold on tight to any food coming in. So taking in lots of calories and sugar does us no favors as our body needs to get the most out of the food it receives.
Our bodies, therefore, switch over to store more fat, just in case those bad times come back. Our bodies are designed for hard work with limited amounts of food and certain mechanisms are built into our system, just like the instinct for survival.
To help overcome any of these hazards, do some research on the topic of dieting; find out what works and maybe even talk to your physician. Your physician might have some recommendations as to where to start and what might be the best way for you to lose some weight the healthy way. My recommendation is to take a step-by-step approach, making small but consistent changes in your lifestyle day by day.
Three Common Hazards to Avoid in Dieting
by Barbara Silberman
Dieting, losing weight and getting healthier are frequently the top resolutions for the New Year. But they also seem to be the hardest of resolutions to fulfill. Has it been on your list in the past few years? Did it work out for you? If not, let’s review three common hazards to avoid in dieting and their effects.
The first big hazard in dieting is falling for one of the quick and easy off-the-shelf diets. These diets come as pills, liquids or even recipes in magazines. Most of these diets promise that you will drop a pant size or more within a few weeks. “Fit into that bathing suit by the Summer”, is what they are catching you with in springtime. The soup will make you lose weight, or so they say.
We fall for these good sales pitches, for that is what they are, because we really do want to lose that weight, and as easily as possible. However, it takes a strong will to stick to a plan and requires that we be consistent, work hard and do some exercise. Many of us fall down in one or more of these areas and succumb to the temptation of a few sweets or some other high calorie food we set our eyes on.
Hence, the thought of a magic pill or drink that will dissolve our excess fat with little work sounds too good to miss. We know that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is and yet we still fall for it. Even if we happen to lose some weight given our initial enthusiasm, the weight just seems to come back and then some.
A second pitfall, is trying to nearly starve ourselves by dramatically cutting back on food. This is a tough proposition when we are food lovers and our body does not like such a fast change. Cutting out food does not work.
When cutting out most foods altogether, we miss out on healthy nutrients for our bodies. Vitamins and minerals are essential for the body as well as many other nutrients that are found in healthy foods. Instead of not eating, go for cutting down the amount of food. The best way to avoid this dieting hazard is to exchange unhealthy foods with healthy ones by a change of lifestyle. Go for a fruit, vegetable and grain rich diet and try to cut out all the high fat and high calorie foods.
Then comes, the well-known yo-yo effect. Despite feeling better with ourselves because we have lost some weight with our ‘new diet plan’, we get fed up with the boring formula meals and desire some ‘real food’. We soon get back into our bad eating habits and the weight just piles back on, leaving us heavier than before.
Our body’s hormones actually regulate our weight loss. After a period of limited food, our bodies hold on tight to any food coming in. So taking in lots of calories and sugar does us no favors as our body needs to get the most out of the food it receives.
Our bodies, therefore, switch over to store more fat, just in case those bad times come back. Our bodies are designed for hard work with limited amounts of food and certain mechanisms are built into our system, just like the instinct for survival.
To help overcome any of these hazards, do some research on the topic of dieting; find out what works and maybe even talk to your physician. Your physician might have some recommendations as to where to start and what might be the best way for you to lose some weight the healthy way. My recommendation is to take a step-by-step approach, making small but consistent changes in your lifestyle day by day.
