The best weight loss program

The best weight loss program

WHAT THE BEST WEIGHT LOSS PROGRAM IS NOT.

The best weight loss program is probably NOT about fad diets, diet pills, fad diets, or even fad diets! Although it's about physical activity...we're all adults here, I'm using the word...exercise...it's NOT about pushing your physical limits, embarrassing yourself in front of the neighbors, going to an expensive gym, or hiring a personal trainer. It is NOT about joining a cult, avoiding friends, alienating your family, eating only unattractive and unappetizing foods, or feeling guilty and depressed. Above all, it should NEVER be about BEING ALONE in your fight.

WHAT THE BEST WEIGHT LOSS PROGRAM IS!

Simply put, the best weight loss program is the one you will stick with. Let's modify that a bit and say it's a healthy, doable, rational and flexible program that you'll stick with...that works!

THE BASIC FACTS ABOUT DIET AND WEIGHT LOSS!

Diets don't work. Yes! It's that simple. Oh, if you want to lose 5 or 10 pounds to look good at your sister's wedding, a quick diet might be in order. But if you truly have a weight problem, as over 50% of Americans do, it is a lifelong condition and requires lifelong action. However, don't consider yourself a life without joy or happiness and don't give up. Go back and read the first paragraph and realize that there are things that CAN be done and YOU CAN DO THEM. In the meantime, however, let me just cover a few facts. Quick and dirty. You can browse them and get just the basics. This item will neither be large enough nor intimidating enough to accommodate everything.

WHY DIETS DON'T WORK.

Diets don't work for many reasons, physical and mental, but I don't have enough space here to cover them all. The main reason why dieting doesn't work is that your body has some really effective self-regulating mechanisms. If you deprive him of his expected calorie intake over a period of time, he will adapt to need fewer calories. Even though you eat less (and definitely don't enjoy it), your body will adjust to a new pattern and your weight will level off with only a small amount of weight loss. Worse still, if you stop dieting, as you know, the body will maintain its new calorie needs while you return to your old eating habits. This brings us to another point.

THE BASIC LAW OF WEIGHT LOSS AND WEIGHT GAIN.

Each body works according to its own rhythm and needs, but they all follow the same law. When you eat more calories than your body needs, it stores the excess as fat. Bottom line. Fact. End of discussion…almost. Based on the information in the paragraph above, you can see that when you give up your diet and go back to eating the old way after your body has adjusted its needs downward, you now have MORE EXCESS CALORIES TO STORE AS FAT! This is why people often gain weight after going on a diet or series of diets.

WHAT IS THE BEST WEIGHT LOSS PROGRAM?

As you can see, you're back at the beginning of this discussion, but with a little more information. We can still say that the best weight loss program is the one you'll stick with, and now you know a little more about why. Since we are all different, the obvious fact should be that you don't need to find THE best weight loss program, but YOUR best weight loss program...the one you will stick with. The big question in your mind is...

HOW DO YOU FIND “YOUR” BEST WEIGHT LOSS PROGRAM?

There are many things you can do to improve your health, your life, and your personal weight situation, such as drinking more water, getting plenty of sleep, and doing things you enjoy. These can all contribute to weight loss, but let's just look at two things for now.

1. Become more active: Note that I avoided saying “exercise.” Oops! I said it. Look, movement equals activity. If you want to do Richard Simmons’ tapes and “Sweat to the Oldies,” more power to you. If you decide to buy a Bowflex and in a few months you look like the grandmother in her TV commercials, that's great! However, chances are good that you just need to make some lifestyle adjustments and become aware of the opportunities that exist in daily life to “work out.” Sure, a planned and scheduled exercise routine is great, but so is going for a walk or gardening or swimming or cleaning the house or... well, you get the idea. The only need is to do it regularly, at least 4 or 5 times a week, and make it a challenge.

Only you can assess what is challenging. What is a challenge today can be as simple as walking to the mailbox and back. One lady started her “exercise program” with this simple step (no pun intended). Another gentleman began his routine by walking to the end of his block. That first day, he thought he wouldn't even be able to go back to his house. A few weeks later he walked over a mile. At one point in my life I regularly ran over 6 miles at a time. However, the first time I tried to run, I couldn't make it half a block. The key is to start doing it regularly and challenge yourself.

Becoming more active not only burns calories during activity (remember, the more calories burned, the less fat is stored), but continuing activity over time (you would do it regularly) causes your body to shift to a new level where it automatically burns more calories than it used to. The facts behind it aren't complicated, but they require a lot more space than we have here, and I've said I'll stick to the basics.

People drop out of “training programs” for many reasons. Do the activity for your purposes as it fits your schedule, choose the activity you like and vary the activity...if you cleaned the house yesterday, go for a walk today. By the way, if I tell you to exercise, go for a walk, you might start that avoidance process that causes people to abandon formal, planned exercise programs. Why don't you take the grandkids to the zoo instead? If that's not training, I don't know what is. Be creative. It’s your “exercise program,” make it whatever you want it to be.

2. Eat Sensibly: You know how you SHOULD eat, right! Back to basics. Lots of vegetables, reduced to portion sizes, an apple instead of cake or a chocolate bar. Take the sugar out of your life. There are all kinds of nutrition tips floating around. Not a single one of them is worth a hill of beans... but a pile of them adds up to a lot more than a hill of beans. Changing just one thing probably won't make a huge difference, but... IT MAKES A DIFFERENCE! Changing seventeen things can make a big difference, but there's a secret...

Don't try to make all seventeen, twelve, or thirty changes at once. Start with one change and make the next one once it becomes part of your life. You might want to learn a little about Kaizen. Small steps in nutrition will help you get where you want to go eventually, just as that small walk to the mailbox one day can lead to walking a mile or two at a time.

HOW LONG DO I NEED TO STAY ON THIS WEIGHT LOSS PROGRAM?

Well, for the rest of your life. This is why it's important to choose activities that you enjoy and learn to make better nutritional choices while still enjoying the pleasure of food. Also, many people have weight loss problems because they have personal problems with life. Your personal weight loss program, regular activity and common sense in nutrition equals a sense of control over a situation that has many negative effects on your life. A sense of control over this situation allows you to eliminate many of these negative affects and reorder other areas of your life that may need attention.

One final point. I've kept this as simple as possible, but it's based on a large amount of information. If you really want to create the most effective weight loss program for you, you need to learn a lot more than you probably know now. The public library is a good place to start, as is the Internet. However, be aware that many people will try to lure you with diet pills and quick weight loss plans. Focus on making a lifestyle change that will last throughout your life. Even when diet pills, diets, and things like weight loss belts or machines that claim to work out for you work, their effects are short-lived (and sometimes dangerous) and, as mentioned above, once you stop the pill or program, you may gain even more weight than you lost.

ONE LAST TIP:

Find a weight loss buddy. Share your goals and the information in this article with them. Make sure they are on the same wavelength. Maybe you want to go for a walk with them, maybe you want to go shopping with them, but most of all, if no one else understands what you're going through...they will, and that's worth more than gold.

Inspired by Donovan Baldwin