Find out how fad diets really work!

Some dieters psychologically treat diets as an all-or-nothing ordeal. Once they deviate – even slightly – from a diet or healthy eating plan, they

figure they might as well drop the whole thing. This starts a cycle of weight gain and weight loss that’s hard to escape.

 

What Should I Do About It?
If you’re a yo-yo dieter and consistently struggle with weight, keep trying. Don’t give up. Trying to achieve a lower weight and reaping the potential health benefits from diet and exercise outweigh the possible risks of weight cycling. However, the trick is to avoid weight cycling altogether and lose weight for good. Here are some tips to accomplish that:

 

Lose Weight Gradually: 
The best way to lose weight and keep it off is through a gradual, consistent loss of weight. Not only does it help keep the weight off, it’s healthier for you.

 

Break it down:
Deal with one meal period at a time.  If you mess it up don't right off the whole day simply start a new 3 hour meal period.

 

Be Positive:
If you blame yourself for your weight, if you are depressed about your weight, or if your mood is low because of your weight, then your first job is to refocus. You’ll need to think about what you can do, how you can do it, why it’s good for you, and how you’ll succeed.

 

Add Some Support:
Develop a support system of people who know your goals, know your weaknesses, and know your strengths. With a positive support system, you’re more likely to make a permanent change.

Forget the quick fix:
Don't even think about starting a juicing diet or a detox program!  Your body doesn't like you right now and depriving yourself of food groups is going to set off the weight loss roller coaster again.  Try nurturing your body with real food, you might be surprised how it responds!

Why Is Yo-Yo Dieting Dangerous? 

Research shows it’s better for your health not to diet at All than to say you’re dieting and

steal biscuits during every commercial break. That’s because diets typically promote weight

cycling  and yo-yo dieting, which is more hazardous to your health than keeping a steady

overweight weight. Most weight cyclers eventually gain  back more weight than they had

initially lost because the shame and stress involved with gaining weight can lead to eating

more.

Diets and the Power of the Mind

When most of us try to lose weight, we pull out the most powerful weapon we’d like to think

we have – our brains – and launch a psychological attack on food. However, the truth is

that there are very strong emotional triggers that make us eat – and can make most diets

fail. Researchers theorize that overeating may act like a drug addiction and trigger the

reward centres in our brain. At points of stress, your brain's neurons may be programmed

to combat the stress with food. 

The consequences of extreme dieting are not pretty, as they all involve debilitating effects on your body. On the physical side...physical fatigue; continuous hunger pangs; sinus problems like post-nasal drip; bloodshot eyes; gallbladder disease; rashes; atrophy of your muscles; seizures; malnutrition that may lead to dying; dehydration; acidosis; constipation; and a regaining of the lost weight after the diet.

On the mental side... consequences are irritability, depression, lower sex drive, and the risk of being vulnerable to more eating disorders like bulimia and anorexia.

 

Your Looks

Limited calories will deprive your body of vital nutrients. Body will use those nutrients for vital organs so tissues such as hair, skin and nails are the first to miss out, leaving you looking less than glowing.

Added to that, rapid weight-loss leads to stretchmarks as the skin loses elasticity. Added to that, hair goes dry, thin and may even fall out. But it's not just the hair on your head that's affected. Your temperature drops when you're under-nourished so the body compensates by growing an extra layer of hair on your cheeks and back,  Nice! And to finish the look, a lack of calcium will eventually weaken teeth, leading to decay.

How you Feel

It's no surprise that if you're hungry all the time, you're not going to be on top form. This leads to confusion, poor concentration, dizziness and low energy levels.

Vital Organs

When you go on a crash diet, it's not just fat you lose. Losing weight rapidly results in muscle loss but it's not just your biceps that are affected.

The same thing is happening to your heart muscle. Because your body isn't getting energy from food, it converts body tissue  into glucose for energy. If the heart loses too much muscle, it can't pump properly.

Also filling up on too much water to stave off hunger, or on the other hand being dehydrated from a lack of food, may alter the body's balance of fluids and electrolytes (minerals such as sodium and potassium), triggering kidney and heart failure.

In the long term, it's also bad news for the brain. "The brain tissue shrinks, showing similar changes to those in dementia sufferers.

 

Eventual Weight Gain

The challenge with unhealthy diets is that they usually cannot be sustained in the long term. You may be able to survive on a short term basis on an extremely low-calorie diet, but eventually you will have to resume eating regular meals. When you go on an extreme diet, you don’t have the opportunity to gradually develop habits that will sustain you in the long haul.

 

Challenge to Mental Health

Unhealthy dieting is challenging for your mental health. Many people feel grumpy and irritable when they are hungry.

 

Unhealthy dieting

Generally leads to greater weight gain in the long run. Extensive juice fasts, extreme calorie reduction, and an overuse of diet powders and pills may lead to immediate weight loss. These results, however, are often hard to sustain on a long-term basis.

 

Fad diets are bad because they don't address the problems that caused you to gain weight in the first place. Once you're through with the fad diet, you'll probably gain the weight back when you re-establish old eating habits. Fad diets are also bad because they usually require the elimination of foods that normally aren't bad for you.

 

How do you know you are looking at a fad diet? Typical signs include:

• · Claims of fast and easy weight loss

• · Elimination of certain food groups or bad food

 
Includes dietary supplements impressively labelled as fat burners, weight loss aids, and metabolism boosters.


 Tells you that foods need to be specifically combined for proper digestion to occur
No need for exercise.

•  Highlights specific foods, such as grapefruit, maple syrup and lemonade or special soup.

 

So what’s the solution......

REAL meal plans and advice

EFFECTIVE exercise programs

MENTAL support, change the way you feel about food

Make it LIFESTYLE not weight loss

SUPPORT, enlist REAL support

 

 

 

For real support, weight loss programs and recipe books visit www.realfitnessforrealwomen.com.au

Stop wasting time!