Yo-Yo Dieting v.s. Long Term Success - What it Takes to Lose the Weight and Keep it Off - The government estimates that $33 billion is spent on weight loss products and services each year. That is a lot of money, but with all that dough going towards losing weight, why are we still seeing rising numbers in obesity every year? Maybe the money is going in the wrong places. Fad diets and gimmicks are too numerous to count these days and without the right education on how your body responds to nutrition how are you to know what is going to work for you or what is healthy for your body? Never fear Lauren is here to help. First I want to make sure that if losing weight is a goal of yours, you will always put health as your number one. You should never try to lose weight at the expense of your health. This means putting harmful stimulants into your body, not eating appropriate amounts of food, or trying to lose too much weight. A healthy approach will always turn out more beneficial than any superficial or overboard attempt. You may have tried a few fad diets in the past promising you quick results. You may have even received results, only to find the weight creep back just as quickly as it left, as soon as you stopped the diet. This in essence is called yo-yo dieting; a cycle of losing weight and gaining it back. In the past it was thought that the weight cycling had adverse consequences on future weight loss attempts. However, recent studies are showing this isn’t so. Good news: if you have been a victim of yo-yo diets in the past, it should not affect your future attempts for success if losing weight the right way. Bad news: you don’t have that excuse anymore as to why you can’t get the extra weight off. Okay, so yo-yo dieting isn’t as harmful as we once thought… but why put yourself through it? Your goal is to lose the weight and keep it off right? So let’s try something different. It’s simple, it makes sense, and most of all it works! It may not be a processed faux chocolate cookie that claims to melt off the pounds or a quick fix pill, but it will work unlike these others. 1. Make healthy food choices most of the time. This means get in your lean meats, fruits, loads of vegetables, whole grains, water-water-water, and your multi vitamins in the morning. This also means to lay off the sweets, processed carbohydrates, and alcohol. Healthy choices include eating 5-6 meals a day 2-3 hours apart apposed to the 3 large meals we American’s tend to eat. By most the time I mean 32-33 of your 35 meals a week should be focused on healthy choices and ingredients. That leaves you a little breathing room to enjoy two or three “cheat choices” to keep you sane throughout the week. 2. Exercise Regularly. Do this by incorporating cardiovascular exercise, strength training and stretching into your lifestyle 5-6 days a week. Every day is an opportunity to be active and burn calories or sit on your butt and put on weight. Move it or lose it! 3. Consistency Consistency Consistency. You must make these acts into habits. Incorporate them into your everyday lifestyle and you will reap the rewards. This is a maintainable way of living that will have you losing weight and keeping it off. Though, it does come with hard work on your part since it is an ever on-going decision to eat and live healthier. However, nothing in life worth achieving is easy. How bad do you want to succeed? If it’s worth it to you, make the commitment and then make it happen. Yo-yo diets are in your past, welcome to true weight loss.
