Fallen Off the Diet Wagon Again? It Is Time to Change Your Approach to Dieting

You have tried your fair share of quick-fix diets, including fasting, paleo, low-carb, low-calorie and low-fat. However, you keep coming up with the same unsatisfactory results. The next thing you know, you are back on the couch with the remote in your hand and Rocky Road in your mouth, wallowing in your failure.

The solution that you are searching for is not another diet, but a change in your way of life. Once you learn to take a better approach to dieting, you will be able to organize your eating habits and your life, so you can keep the weight off for good.

Why Diets Fail

Unsuccessful diets are much more common than the success stories. In fact, ninety-eight percent of dieters fail. The reality is that losing weight is difficult, and most people lack the willpower to avoid the tasty, high-calorie foods that they love.

In addition, the fast pace of today’s world has everyone in such a rush that no one has time to cook healthy meals and stick to their exercise routines. Bad eating habits and sedimentary lifestyles make shedding extra pounds and keeping them off harder than ever.

One reason so many dieters fail is that they do not have the right motivation to lose the weight. If you only sort of want to lose weight, it is never going to happen. You have to be committed to changing your life and breaking all those bad habits. On the other hand, those whose lives are at risk, or have been rejected by their ideal partner because of their weight, are more likely to stick to their diet to achieve the results they desire.

Another reason diets fail is that people bend the rules gradually until they break completely. It may not be too bad to have a piece of chocolate cake on your co-worker’s birthday, but you have to stop there. Otherwise, you will find yourself slugging with a cookie or two during your favorite television show and before you know it, you are back to ordering huge desserts with dinner. If you do not keep yourself in check, you will naturally go back to your bad eating habits.

A diet that calls for sudden harsh changes can leave you feeling hungry and deprived. When you cut your daily calories all at once, not only will you be tired and hungry, but also the cravings can be overwhelming. If you do not give in to your cravings, you will feel deprived, which can lead to rebellious overeating.

In order to lose weight successfully, you must have realistic expectations. You are not going to lose weight overnight, nor are you going to stick to a strenuous two-hour daily workout regimen. You did not gain the weight all of a sudden, so it is ridiculous to think that you can lose it all at once. Long-term success requires gradual decreases in the foods that you eat and an increase in physical activity, until you learn to adopt this new, healthier way of life.

What Is Yo-Yo Dieting?

Yo-yo dieting, a phrase coined by Kelly Brownell of Yale University, describes the up and down cycle of losing weight and putting it back on, then losing it and putting it back on again, over and over. This is the result when you choose dieting over lifestyle changes.

Most diets revolve around low calories and bouts of starvation, with which you are only setting yourself up to fail. Although you may achieve results quickly, eventually the weight is going to come back.

The body adapts to the intake of food and the calories that you burn. If you are depriving it of calories, it automatically panics into conserving energy and your metabolism will slow down. In the weight loss world this is referred to as the plateau effect; when the initial weight loss you experienced begins to slow down or stop altogether. Once you hit this point, maintaining a diet becomes increasingly difficult and your slower metabolism can cause the pounds to come back quickly.

A Good Cleansing

Your organs, such as the lungs, colon, kidneys and skin, are responsible for eliminating waste and toxins. If you do not regularly cleanse these organs, toxins and waste will build up in your body and may compromise your health. The 9 day cleanse program from Isagenix is an example of a really high quality nutritional cleansing program.

Everything that you eat touches your stomach walls, colon and small intestine. If the substances are toxic, glands, cells, nerves and the intestinal wall may become damaged. When this happens, the toxins can escape into the blood and lymph system as well as your tissues and cells. The result is inflammation, disease, abnormal behavior of the nervous system and abnormal brain activity.

The Importance of Exercise

Bodies were built to move, which means that they crave exercise. Regular exercise is fundamental to good health and physical fitness. In addition to reducing the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes cancer and other ailments, it can also slow the aging process.

Exercise improves stamina, and trains your body to work more efficiently. When you improve your level of conditioning, your breathing and heart rate will return to normal more quickly following strenuous activity.

Your flexibility will improve, which enhances your posture and appearance. You can shave inches off your waist just by standing up straight. In addition, you will build muscle tone, which keeps your metabolism going so you will burn more calories even after your workout is done.

Losing weight successfully requires a great deal of planning and preparation. Use simple strategies and techniques to lose weight gradually, and never be afraid to ask for the support of others to help you stay on track with reaching your goals.