Why Dieting is not a Long Term Solution to a Weight Problem
Dieting does not really offer a long-term solution to a weight problem, since so many people who choose to follow diets for weight loss regain the weight they lost within a couple of years. If you're simply going to lose a substantial amount of weight only to put it all back on then what is the point of trying to do something about your weight in the first place?
You shouldn't let the fact that most people who lose weight regain it stop you from trying to lose weight, though, as it is better to try and fail than to never try at all. What you need to consider, though, is that if you want to lose weight successfully you have to think about weight loss differently. If you don't want to end up being one of those people whose weight continually yo-yos you need to think about finding a weight which you will be able to maintain, rather than aiming to be as thin as possible. Even losing just 10 per cent of your body weight can work wonders for your health, and so is worth making a priority.
The trouble is that a lot of people who decide to lose weight have unrealistic expectations about what they can achieve within a given timeframe, aiming to lose a large amount of weight very quickly. Losing weight extremely quickly usually requires you to reduce your calorie intake to dangerously low levels, meaning that you won't be getting all the vital nutrients that your body requires. Your metabolism will slow down, as it learns to use calories in a more efficient way than before, so that your rate of weight loss will also slow down.
Plus, once you start eating a more substantial amount of food your body will hold on to the extra calories it is given and usually store them as fat, which is why many people end up heavier than before they started their diet. They simply cannot follow the restrictive diet they have forced upon themselves for long periods of time, and so when they decide to come off their diet, they generally eat all the foods which had formerly been prohibited. The diet goes out of the window as does any kind of structure and so they just go back to eating junk food at all times of day.
You therefore need to think about a period of weight-loss within the wider context of weight management, as you are bound to experience times in your life when you put on a few pounds, then lose them. The idea is to establish fundamentally good habits, though, so that even when you occasionally overindulge you will still have a structure in place that allows you to manage your weight effectively. Eating balanced meals at regular intervals and exercising on a frequent basis clearly puts you in a better position to control your weight than someone who has failed to establish a sensible routine when it comes to eating and exercise.
You shouldn't let the fact that most people who lose weight regain it stop you from trying to lose weight, though, as it is better to try and fail than to never try at all. What you need to consider, though, is that if you want to lose weight successfully you have to think about weight loss differently. If you don't want to end up being one of those people whose weight continually yo-yos you need to think about finding a weight which you will be able to maintain, rather than aiming to be as thin as possible. Even losing just 10 per cent of your body weight can work wonders for your health, and so is worth making a priority.
The trouble is that a lot of people who decide to lose weight have unrealistic expectations about what they can achieve within a given timeframe, aiming to lose a large amount of weight very quickly. Losing weight extremely quickly usually requires you to reduce your calorie intake to dangerously low levels, meaning that you won't be getting all the vital nutrients that your body requires. Your metabolism will slow down, as it learns to use calories in a more efficient way than before, so that your rate of weight loss will also slow down.
Plus, once you start eating a more substantial amount of food your body will hold on to the extra calories it is given and usually store them as fat, which is why many people end up heavier than before they started their diet. They simply cannot follow the restrictive diet they have forced upon themselves for long periods of time, and so when they decide to come off their diet, they generally eat all the foods which had formerly been prohibited. The diet goes out of the window as does any kind of structure and so they just go back to eating junk food at all times of day.
You therefore need to think about a period of weight-loss within the wider context of weight management, as you are bound to experience times in your life when you put on a few pounds, then lose them. The idea is to establish fundamentally good habits, though, so that even when you occasionally overindulge you will still have a structure in place that allows you to manage your weight effectively. Eating balanced meals at regular intervals and exercising on a frequent basis clearly puts you in a better position to control your weight than someone who has failed to establish a sensible routine when it comes to eating and exercise.
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