If it was really that easy to lose weight then everyone would do it.
We wouldn’t be a society of overweight people. Our weight takes dedication and a conscious effort to eat healthy foods and exercise regularly. The temptation to fall for whatever promises the new craze FAD diet gurus are peddling can sometimes be overwhelming. “Lose 10 pounds in three days eating nothing but bananas!” “Eat as much cabbage soup as you want and lose 10 pounds!”
Most people see those outrageous claims and think, “Why not? I can eat cabbage soup for week.” The problem is you won’t always be eating cabbage soup. You may lose 5 to 10 pounds in week on some newfangled FAD diet. But those pounds will come bouncing right back on you like a boomerang out of
control. In fact, many times you end up with more weight because your body is trying to overreact to the shock you gave them by following a FAD diet.
FAD diet are basically on par with starvation diets simply because to lose weight you need to shock your system.
When you shock your system it’s like a wake up call. Think of it in terms of money. When the stock market crashed in the 1920s people ran to take what money they could get their hands on out of the banks because the banks were suddenly collapsing. People then kept that money right by their side in case they needed it. The old “money under the mattress” was safer than trying to earn interest and a bank that was unstable.
The same is true for your body when you suddenly are deprived of proper nutrition. Your body will want to hold on to whatever fat reserves and nutrients it has been not give it up to weight loss. To break this FAD diet habit, ignore all your friends, the television, and magazine ads that profess miracle weight-loss. It will only hurt your body in the end and prevent you from your desired goal of losing weight and getting fit. The only real way to lose weight safely, and continue to lose weight and keep it of for life, is a program that has steady progress.
You may feel frustrated that you aren’t losing weight as quickly as you would if you a cabbage soup for week. But you will keep what weight you lose, off longer. Your body will be healthier and more fit.
Make a Plan and Stick to It
The shortest path between two points is a straight line. The most important word in that phrase is “path”. Without one, you’re aimlessly wandering.
Would you go on a road trip without mapping out a course? Maybe you would because it can be fun to see where the road would take you. But if you’re trying to lose weight, aimlessly wandering will only make the task harder unless you have a solid plan.
It is true that some people can lose weight simply by cutting the amount of food they eat. Not everyone is like that. Most people need a more structured regime and change to their lifestyle in general to be successful in their weight loss and fitness goal.
I want everyone to be successful at their weight-loss goal. When I work with a new client I work hard and I expect that they will follow the plan that I set out for them. When that plan is followed my clients are gratified to see results. Nothing makes me more happy than seeing the success of my clients. The million-dollar question for most people is how to put together a plan. Your diet and fitness plan will encompass several different things.
The best way to keep track of a plan is to use a journal or log. You can spend money on a fancy calendar or you can just get a simple notebook for under a dollar.
You’ll want to log how often you exercise and for how long.
You want to write down how often you eat and what you’re eating along with a total calorie count for each day. You’ll also want to include periodic weigh-ins that will include what you weigh on a particular day and the change in your weight
You want to write down how often you eat and what you’re eating along with a total calorie count for each day. You’ll also want to include periodic weigh-ins that will include what you weigh on a particular day and the change in your weight
since your last weigh-in and since you started your weight loss program.
Many people find that after they have diligently recorded all this information in their journal they no longer need the journal after a month or two. It only takes 2 to 3 weeks to make a lifestyle change permanent. By that time you most likely will have solidified new lifestyle habits that you can continue without the aid of the journal. If you feel yourself slipping back into old habits, continue using the journal and stay on course.
As soon as you start forgetting to exercise or stop paying attention to what you’re eating, you’ll begin to gain weight again. That is the last thing you want to do after all your hard work.
