4/6/07
Weight Loss Diets: Fact And Fiction, Part 2
Author: Adrian Adams
Now that we have looked at some very common fallacies, let's take a look at some important weight loss facts. These facts can make a huge difference to your ability to achieve your weight loss goals and then maintaining your new weight in a healthy manner.
Weight Loss Takes Time
Genuine, healthy, permanent weight loss takes time. It is a gradual process and it is not going to happen overnight. Extreme weight loss diets that promise quick results do not promote good health and even if the person does lose weight quickly, more often than not, they gain more back than they lost. This manner of dieting actually causes weight gain in the long term.
Weight Loss Requires A Lifestyle Change
The first thing that has to change if you want to lose weight is your diet; not only what you eat, but how much you eat. A lot of people take in more calories every day than they actually use. If this continues over time, a person can gain a lot of weight and yet not appear to be overeating. Effectively, to lose weight you have to burn more calories than you eat. To be healthy in the process, these calories have to have a high nutritional value. Exercise should also be included in this lifestyle change. Exercise will burn calories while you are engaged in it, but more than this, it will raise your metabolic rate so that you burn more calories throughout the day.
You Do Not Necessarily Have To Eat Less
To lose weight, you may not have to eat less food. Many people are overweight, not because they eat too much, but because they eat food high in calories. A person who eats a large heaped plate of salad will consume fewer calories than a person who eats a small bucket of chips. A person who drinks water with their meals will consume fewer calories than someone who drinks a sugary soda. There is also substantial evidence that diet sodas can prevent weight loss and contribute to weight gain, not because of calories but because of the effect of chemicals. This means that calories are not the only consideration in choosing foods. Nutritional value and health benefits need to be primary considerations in order to get the best long term health and weight loss results.
You Should Eat Regularly
It is important to eat regularly for two reasons. Firstly, hunger is the number one enemy of weight loss so it is important to avoid more than mild hunger. If you get too hungry, you can be tempted to just grab anything and totally blow your daily goals. When we fail, it is easy for discouragement to set in which can cause us to give up altogether. Secondly, eating a number of small regular meals throughout the day will increase your metabolic rate so that you burn more calories.
If you avoid the fiction and stick to the facts, then your weight loss journey has every likelihood of success. It is hard to lose weight in our modern world with its fast-paced stressful lifestyle and fast food fixes. That is why we really have to reject this lifestyle to be successful. More than anything, if you want to lose weight you need to change the way you live, not just the amount of food you eat.
¶ 3:47 PM
Author: Adrian Adams
Now that we have looked at some very common fallacies, let's take a look at some important weight loss facts. These facts can make a huge difference to your ability to achieve your weight loss goals and then maintaining your new weight in a healthy manner.
Weight Loss Takes Time
Genuine, healthy, permanent weight loss takes time. It is a gradual process and it is not going to happen overnight. Extreme weight loss diets that promise quick results do not promote good health and even if the person does lose weight quickly, more often than not, they gain more back than they lost. This manner of dieting actually causes weight gain in the long term.
Weight Loss Requires A Lifestyle Change
The first thing that has to change if you want to lose weight is your diet; not only what you eat, but how much you eat. A lot of people take in more calories every day than they actually use. If this continues over time, a person can gain a lot of weight and yet not appear to be overeating. Effectively, to lose weight you have to burn more calories than you eat. To be healthy in the process, these calories have to have a high nutritional value. Exercise should also be included in this lifestyle change. Exercise will burn calories while you are engaged in it, but more than this, it will raise your metabolic rate so that you burn more calories throughout the day.
You Do Not Necessarily Have To Eat Less
To lose weight, you may not have to eat less food. Many people are overweight, not because they eat too much, but because they eat food high in calories. A person who eats a large heaped plate of salad will consume fewer calories than a person who eats a small bucket of chips. A person who drinks water with their meals will consume fewer calories than someone who drinks a sugary soda. There is also substantial evidence that diet sodas can prevent weight loss and contribute to weight gain, not because of calories but because of the effect of chemicals. This means that calories are not the only consideration in choosing foods. Nutritional value and health benefits need to be primary considerations in order to get the best long term health and weight loss results.
You Should Eat Regularly
It is important to eat regularly for two reasons. Firstly, hunger is the number one enemy of weight loss so it is important to avoid more than mild hunger. If you get too hungry, you can be tempted to just grab anything and totally blow your daily goals. When we fail, it is easy for discouragement to set in which can cause us to give up altogether. Secondly, eating a number of small regular meals throughout the day will increase your metabolic rate so that you burn more calories.
If you avoid the fiction and stick to the facts, then your weight loss journey has every likelihood of success. It is hard to lose weight in our modern world with its fast-paced stressful lifestyle and fast food fixes. That is why we really have to reject this lifestyle to be successful. More than anything, if you want to lose weight you need to change the way you live, not just the amount of food you eat.
¶ 3:47 PM
