Strictly speaking, diets don't fail, people fail to stick with
a diet. Following any reduced calorie diet will result in weight
loss. The problem is sticking with it. Unfortunately, most diets
have built-in failures which trip up the dieter. Diets go wrong
by being too restrictive.
Many conventional diets demand a fairly low calorie intake in
order to lose weight. They are based on a fairly simple concept:
in order to lose weight one must eat less. Although true, for
people who have a large amount of weight to lose, reducing their
usual daily intake by 1000 - 2000 calories a day is a depressing
task. Such dieters feel deprived before even starting a new diet.
Even for people with small amounts to lose, cutting their usual
intake from 2200 or 2500 to 1200 calories, can be a shock to the
system. A quick glance at any women's magazine reveals at least
one sample menu for weight loss. Upon comparison, the amounts of
food seem very small and usually include uninteresting foods
such as yogurt, cottage cheese and chicken breasts. Diets go
wrong by requiring the dieter to change the type of food eaten.
Humans are creatures of habit and usually eat the same foods
over and over. Granted, overweight folks are eating too much of
the wrong foods. But, in an effort to promote eating a variety
of healthy foods, conventional diets suggest new dishes which
often include exotic and hard to find foods or just plain boring
foods. Using a sample week's menu of meals can result in buying
unusual ingredients, using a small amount for one recipe, then
often wasting the rest. Diets go wrong by making it difficult to
eat.
Most diets suggest using fresh foods, cooked from scratch at
home. This requires more meal planning, shopping and preparation
time. It's easier and quicker to rely on fast food or
convenience foods. The drawback with fast food is in controlling
exactly what is eaten since the ingredients are not easily
known. Even with the new improved labeling on convenience foods,
there's no guarantee the totals at the end of the day will be
within healthy ranges. And who has the time to keep track?
But trying to eat less and prepare strange new dishes can be
discouraging. New recipes can take longer to prepare, making it
tempting to revert to old eating patterns and simply give up.
Eating at a favorite restaurant or at social gatherings is
difficult at best. The required food is not available and making
substitutions is tricky. Diets go wrong by feeling like a
punishment.
Diets require the reduced intake of food, cutting out favorite
foods, learning to like new foods, spending more time planning
and preparing food. All these changes can make the dieter feel
punished by the very process which is supposed to improve life.
However, people usually approach a diet with the attitude:
'this is just until I lose x number pounds.' This is where
people fail diets. Any change required to lose weight will need
to continue after the pounds are gone. When dieters revert to
old habits, the weight creeps back on. Diets go wrong by
creating a repeated failure record.
Every time a dieter fails at a diet, stops trying and returns
to old eating habits, the chances of succeeding at the next
attempt is reduced. The dieter becomes fatalistic about the
possibility of ever losing weight. How to win the 'diet' battle?
The real answer to the shortcomings of diets seems to be: eat
the foods you are accustomed to, but reduce the amount of
everything eaten. Rather than learning new ways of cooking,
suffering through painful shopping trips for food you don't
like, spending hours cooking and tracking the amounts eaten,
simply fill your plate as usual, put part of it back and eat the
rest with a clear conscience.
A reduction of only 500 calories a day will result in a weight
loss of one pound a week which adds up over time. (When was the
last time you lost 52 pounds a year?) This approach
automatically cuts the amount of fat consumed as well as
reducing the intake of sodium, sugar and concentrated calories
such as meat and carbohydrates.
So, rather than put yourself on a 'diet,' make moderate
changes. Omit one large snack or dessert, and all second
helpings each day. Eat a little less meat and high fat foods.
Add a salad or extra serving of 'skinny' vegetables every day,
(you know which ones.) Go for a walk after supper. Give it time.
And, never say 'diet' again.
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are included as written. For use in other printed media e-mail:
nora@atthefence.com
Nora Penia is an educator and writer. She has written one
novel, as yet unpublished, and for over two years has written
for her own online magazine entitled At the Fence, Relationships
and Parenting.
This article may be used in any online media. Please contact
Nora if you wish to publish this article in traditional print
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