New Year And The Dieting Begins

(HealthNewsDigest.com) – It’s that time of year again, when many vow that this is the year that they will finally lose weight. But, as Jackie Gleason so aptly said it many years ago – The second day of a diet is always easier than the first. By the second day you’re off it. Most don’t stick with the new discovery or quick fix that promises you’ll lose weight easily without trying too hard. First it was low carb, than high fat that promised to do the trick. Then there is the grapefruit diet, the cabbage soup diet, high protein diets, very low calorie diets, liquid diets, feast and fast programs, diet drugs, and even think yourself thin diets.

The list is unending as trendy diets come and go and people waste time and money chasing the dream of being thin. For some being thin trumps all. Weight lose surveys have shown that more than 55% of men and women said they’d rather be thin and poor than rich and significantly overweight. More than 50% said they’d rather lose their job than gain 75 pounds. And, more than 10% would trade 20 points on their IQ for a perfect body.

When you mention the word diet, most people shudder. They think they will have to endure an extended amount of time when they cannot eat anything they enjoy. They believe they will be relegated to eating bland-tasting, tiny portions, and unending bowls of grass.

Diet, by definition, is what a person usually eats. Granted what you usually eat may be what got you where you are right now, weighing too much. But diet is not the culprit. It is just a word. As a dietitian, I could put you on a diet to gain weight, or plan a diet to manage your diabetes or help you prevent heart disease.

Most weight lose diets make promises that are simply too good to be true. So, how do you recognize a diet that will help you effectively lose weight and keep it off? Steer clear of diets that:

• Promises a quick weight loss or a promise to lose many pounds in one week. Even if you do drop 5 pounds you will put it right back on in the next couple of weeks.
• Limits or avoids some foods. Any food can fit into a healthy eating plan. It is not the food but how much or how often you eat it.
• Allows you to eat as much as you want of certain foods. Too much of any food, even healthy choices will add too many calories.
• Requires you to buy special foods or supplements. What happens when you stop using these and attempt to navigate the real world of eating once again? Can you eat these narrow choices of food forever?
• Promises you can lose weight or maintain your weight loss without exercise or lifestyle changes. This just can’t happen.

 

What should you look for in a good diet plan?

• The diet should be based on actual weight loss research, not just one study on a limited amount of people. Check out the National Weight Control Registry (http://www.nwcr.ws/) to find out what really works for real people.
• It should include physical activity. You don’t have to run a marathon or be slumped over an elliptical machine after a workout. Just get off your seat and on your feet. Wear a pedometer and count your steps. Approximately 2,500 steps equal a mile.
• No foods should be forbidden. It is not the food, but how often and how much you eat.
• The diet doesn’t use extreme measures – fasting, cleansing, special formulas or pills.
• The eating plan will not harm your health now or in the future.
• The diet has a plan you can live with for the rest of your life. The biggest flaw with most diets is that they end and the person goes back to their old eating and lifestyle habits. A lifelong diet gives you tools to rely on that will keep you slimmer and more active.

Bottom line: It takes knowledge, motivation, action and time to create change. If you want to lose weight and move more in 2015, cut yourself some slack. It won’t happen overnight, but every small step you take in the right direction will help you become a trimmer, healthier you. A small success is better than a big failure.

© NRH Nutrition Consultants, Inc.
Jo-Ann Heslin, MA, RD, CDN is a registered dietitian and the author of the nutrition counter series for Pocket Books with sales of more than 8.5 million books.

Look for:

The Diabetes Counter, 5^th Ed., 2014

The Fat and Cholesterol Counter, 2014

The Most Complete Food Counter, 3^rd ed., 2013

The Calorie Counter, 6^th Ed., 2013

The Complete Food Counter, 4^th ed., 2012

The Protein Counter, 3^rd Ed., 2011

The Ultimate Carbohydrate Counter, 3^rd Ed., 2010

The Healthy Wholefoods Counter, 2008

Your Complete Food Counter App: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/your-complete-food-counter/id444558777?mt=8

 

For more information on Jo-Ann and her books, go to: www.TheNutritionExperts.com.

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