Healthy Strategies for Your Ideal Body
by Grace Navarro
http://www.ezediets.com
Once the dust and cookie crumbs from the holidays were
swept clean, many people made some resolutions regarding
their health, planning to shed some weight and get into
better shape. By now, some are still carrying on with their
good intentions, while others got derailed and are looking
to get back on track. For both cases, here is some
information and encouragement.
If you are currently on a diet, or in the process of
beginning one, you are among company. There are around
sixty million US Americans on a weight loss plan on at any
time, meaning that one out of five people you meet today
are statistically likely to be in the process of dieting.
The trend has been for about half the entire US population
to start a diet at some point during a year's time, meaning
that every other person you encounter today will likely
attempt to reduce their weight this year. The greater
percentage of them will be women because on average three
out of four women feel they need to lose weight.
A simple fact, commonly known and frequently ignored, is
that some diet products don't work and some actually keep
you from losing weight. Buyer beware. Understanding a few
key concepts would help many people avoid the mistake of
starting a diet plan that is doomed to failure. Often, it
is not the dieter who fails, but rather the flawed premise
of the diet plan that ends up failing to work for the
dieter. It is heartbreaking to know that someone who is
giving their best effort, and suffering discomfort,
unnecessary hunger, and emotional pain during the process
of dieting has a 98% chance of regaining all the weight
they lost, plus a few pounds more. The most important thing
for anyone contemplating a diet to understand is this one:
Dozens of studies have shown conclusively that
'traditional' dieting - restricting caloric intake - does
not work.
The quick explanation of why caloric restriction does not
work in the long run for weight loss boils down to
survival. In the face of a radical reduction of food
intake, our bodies have miraculous systems designed to
ensure that we don't starve. Our brains are programmed when
faced with 'starvation' to conserve energy and slow down
metabolism, create more fat from everything we eat, and to
crank up the level of our hunger signals. Our bodies don't
know the 'starvation' of calorie restriction is voluntary,
and the survival programs don't care a bit about fitting
into a smaller pair of jeans. The survival programs that
are triggered also guarantee that once the diet is over,
all of the weight that was painstakingly lost will be
regained, and then some.
People fall for diet programs that defy common sense for a
number of reasons. First, there is confusion because so
much conflicting information is published by the media.
Second, we are barraged with some very effective marketing
as companies compete for our dieting dollars (35 billion is
spent annually in the US alone). Third, the truth is that
most of us want to believe there is some magic answer, an
easy, quick and effective way to get fit. Despite the
claims made by promoters of many diet plans and products,
research is consistently showing that the big four dieting
concepts do not work in the long-run. They are either
unsustainable, or too simplistically applied. Low-calorie
is over. No-fat is out. High-protein is finished. Low-carb
is on the wane.
Well then, what does work? Eating the foods our bodies are
designed to eat, in proper proportion and combination.
Combining the right foods for weight loss is not tricky,
but it doesn't seem to be common knowledge either. There
are, however, good books available on the subject of
effective food combining. The most clearly written and
workable book I've found so far is "Good Calorie Diet" by
Dr. Phillip Lipetz. The book was written in 1994, but it is
based on sound research. And besides, the principles
regarding what foods we should eat in what combinations are
as old as humankind.
The book is brief, easy to understand, and the plan is
readily applied. The basic principles are few. I'll share a
couple here so you can get the idea of proper food
combinations and get started on the pleasant journey of
changing your eating habits for permanent weight loss. The
first principle is to eat whole food, and avoid processed
foods such as those that come in packages, boxes and cans.
Another principle is never to combine animal protein with
fruit or with starchy carbohydrates (rice, bread, pasta,
potatoes). All of the principles of food combination are
aligned with the way our ancestors ate, and it just makes
sense to eat according to the diet humans were designed to
thrive upon.
Submit An Article
|
|
|
