Why is it so hard to lose weight and keep it off? Why are the people who maintain permanent weight loss so few and far between? Why can some people lose weight and keep it off, some never gain weight to begin with and still some can’t catch a break on the scale no matter what they do?
The culprit could be the concept of “dieting.” Simply put, “diets” don’t work. The word implies a “beginning” and an “ending” to a certain way of eating. This cycle has a negative effect on your body’s resting metabolic rate, ultimately leading you through the vicious cycle of diet success and failure.
Did you know that for most dieters, 2/3 of weight loss is re-gained in one year and all is re-gained in five years? All that work and the weight just comes back! This sad fact makes it clear that a lifestyle change – not a “diet” – is the answer to permanent weight loss. The reasons are simple. A fad diet may work in the short term. Cutting out sweets or fat may also work. But eventually, when you go back to your old eating habits, the weight is going to come back. A well-rounded solution including healthy eating, exercise and dietary supplements is the safest and healthiest way to lose weight.
You may be asking yourself: What’s involved with this change? Am I ready to commit to it? Only you can answer the second part, but here’s some information on what to expect from the first.
You’ve heard the song “Love and Marriage” – “you can’t have one without the other.” The same holds true with a successful diet and exercise plan – they go together like love and marriage. It’s true that cutting calories and eating smaller portions will help you lose weight. However, without exercise, you’re only spinning your wheels. Most diets cause weight loss from water and muscle rather than fat. When muscle is preserved through exercise, you lose weight from fat. (More on that issue in section 3.)
Exercise affects the total amount of calories we burn each day. Of course, the ultimate goal is to burn more calories than you consume each day. Exercising, especially if you are incorporating it for the first time, doesn’t mean you have to spend hours in the gym every day. Start small – try twenty minutes of aerobic exercise three times a week and gradually build your regime from there. That might be a brisk walk, a Stairmaster routine, or a jazzercise class, for example. Once you feel comfortable, you can add strength training into your routine two or three times a week. Targeting larger muscle groups – like the thighs and buttocks – offers the best results. Strength training is the best way to build muscle and the more muscle you have and maintain, the more calories you burn – even when you aren’t exercising.
The latest fad diet may be tempting, but following a healthy eating plan and keeping your metabolic rate up with weight loss enhancing exercise achieve permanent weight loss.
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The author, Linda Ford, PhD, is an independent distributor for Shaklee.