Where Diets Go Wrong
When we discover that we are heavier than we want to be, we have a
natural inclination to eat less food. We may skip lunch or eat only a
tiny amount of our dinner in the hope that if we eat less our body will
burn off some of its fat. But that is not necessarily true. Eating less
actually makes it more difficult to lose weight.
Keep in mind that the human body took shape millions of years ago,
and at that time there were diets. The only low-calorie event in
people’s lives was starvation. Those who could cope with a temporary
lack of food were the ones who survived. Our bodies, therefore, have
developed this built-in mechanism to help us survive in the face of low
food intake.
When researchers compare overweight and thin people, they find that
they are roughly the same number of calories. What makes overweight
people different is the amount of fat that they eat. Thin people tend to
eat less fat and more complex carbohydrates.
Losing weight is not something one can do overnight. A carefully
planned weight loss program requires common sense and certain
guidelines. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of misinformantion floating
around and lots of desperate people are easily duped and ripped off.
Every day one can open a magazine or newspaper and see advertisements
touting some new product, pill or patch that will take excess weight
off quickly. Everyone seems to be looking for that “magic” weight loss
pill. Millions of Americans are trying to lose weight, spending billions
of dollars every year on diet programs and products. Often they do lose
some weight. But, if you check with the same people five years later,
you will find that nearly all have regained whatever weight they lost.
A survey was done recently to try and determine if any commercial
diet program could prove long-term success. Not a single program could
do so. So rampant has the so-called diet industry become with new
products and false claims that the FDA has now stepped in and started
clamping down.
Being seriously overweight and particularly obesity can develop into a
number of diseases and serious health problems, and it is now a known
fact that when caloric intake is excessive, some of the excess
frequently is saturated fat.
The myth is that people get heavy by eating too many calories.
Calories are a consideration it’s true, but overall they are not the
cause of obesity in America today. Americans actually take in fewer
calories each day than they did at the beginning of the century. If
calories alone were the reason we become overweight, we should all be
thin. But we are not. Collectively, we are heavier than ever. Partly, it
is because we are more sedentary now. But equally, as important is the
fact that the fat content of the American diet has changed dramatically
People who diet without exercising often get fatter with time.
Although your weight may initially drop while dieting, such weight loss
consists mostly of water and muscle. When the weight returns, it comes
back as fat. To avoid getting fatter over time, increase your metabolism
by exercising regularly.
Select an exercise routine that you are comfortable with and remember
that walking is one of the best and easiest exercises for strengthening
your bones, controlling your weight and toning your muscles.
Submitted by Joe R.