Too Many Diets! Help Me Choose!!!
Choosing a diet can be frustrating. Especially when you feel
like you've tried them all and have not yielded the results you've
always hoped for. The fact of the matter is that no diet is made
to order for everyone. You must suss out the situation and figure
out what you want from a diet, what you are willing to give,
and how much time and money you have to invest. Choosing a diet
that includes foods you actually enjoy eating is something that
you need to take seriously. If the plan is not conducive to your
taste buds you will inevitably sneak those foods in and each
plan is designed one way and usually one way only. There is not
much room for play.
Here are some techniques that may help you choose a diet that is
right for you. They are broken into sections of interest and you
can choose to answer all of them or some of them to decipher if
you are ready to diet, and which one may be the most beneficial.
Lifestyle
What will you be comfortable with? Take a look at your eating
patters, where do you eat? In fast food restaurants? When do
you eat? Late at night? How often do you eat? Do you have many
lunch dates for work? Do you socialize with friends by going
out to dinner?
What kinds of foods do you prefer (sweets, carb, protein, veggies,
meats)?
Are you willing to substitute food for shakes, or supplements?
Do you like to exercise and are you willing to incorporate a plan of exercise
into your daily routine?
Can you financially afford high cost diet plans, expensive foods and supplements,
a gym membership?
What are the things that weaken you and cause you to fall victim
to overeating?
Is your job such that it is hard to plan meals and bring prepared dishes with
you- Do your cravings turn to headaches when you don't have the desired foods?
Is your family on a diet with you or do you have to prepare meals for yourself
separately when dieting? Consider these things and plan for them,working out
fixes along the way. Diets the promise no inconvenient are a lie! Each diet
plan requires some time and maintenance and will require a turn inform your
normal way of life.
What are the things that you reward yourself for? What are the
strong points of your personality when it comes to dieting and
life in general? These things need to be used to your advantage.
By emphasizing the things that you are good at, you may be able
to lessen the stress and help get your body onto a healthier
shape faster. Find things you are good at, is it jogging, walking,
swimming, shopping for bargains, playing with your kids, cooking,
working, etc, and reward yourself for excelling in those areas.
If you like to cook stick to a diet that allows home cooked meals. If you like
to swim, find a diet that promotes activities such as swimming or other exercise,
if you like shopping for bargains, feel good about a diet that requires lots
of shopping.
Which One?
Consider a diet plan that controls calories.
E ating the proper number of calories is really the only way to lose weight.
You may hear of all the hype regarding the no carb diet plans and have may
even seem your friends shed lots of pounds on them. The bottom line is discovering
a healthy lifestyle that you can implement forever is the key to long term
weight loss. Cutting out food groups is not. You will lower your weight by
changing the amount of carbohydrates, protein or fat that you eat, but your
heart, health and longevity of weight loss is at risk.
There are ways to control calories. You can count calories,
and go with a plan like weight watchers, that makes calorie counting
very easy when using their tools, or you can count them yourself,
which is more complicated and time consuming. Controlling the
number of servings and portion sizes something many diet plans
resort to, while others use other systems like the point systems.Wach
way has its benefits and quirks, you just must find which one
feels more comfortable for you.
Diets that offer unlimited amount of food should be used with
caution if at all. Long term weight loss is unlikely when you
are not counting calories.
There are so many diets out today that promise and promote so
many things- high carb diets, low carb, low fat, no fat, all
fat. It can be confusing to know who is telling the truth, who
is totally basing their "fact" on studies that have never been
promoted by anyone other than themselves, and who really has
a handle on weight loss and general health and fitness.
Here is a breakdown of what all this means:
Low Carb - Being a very important energy source carbs are an
important, so diets which eliminate them all together are not
the best choice if you do not want to go through an initial and
maybe permanent sluggish period. Diets claiming that eliminating
carbs all together is the key to weight loss tend to be swimming
with saturated fat and are often deficient in nutrients. Restrict
the amount of fruits and vegetables you can eat while on these
diets, even though many of these foods contain phytochemicals
that are known to reduce the risk of disease (not to mention
the vitamins, minerals, and fiber you will be cutting out of
your diet) in many cases is not the healthiest choice you can
make for your overall well being. If going with a low-carb diet
try to find one that that allows you to have a sufficient amount
of low carb vegetables and fruits, while containing 'healthy'
fats like fish and nuts.
High Carb - Maintain a routine of exercise is essential when
applying a high carb diet. Fat although sometimes shunned in
these diets is essential and should be incorporated while eating
foods high in iron and calcium. The key to all dieting obviously
is to eat a variety of healthy foods. Allow yourself sufficient
calories (sufficient being roughly- 1600 cals for an average
sized adult, 1200being the lowest you should go unless on a specific
plan that is being monitored by your physician.
High Protein - High protein usually yields low carb, so beware
of the restrictions here. If you are into working out and weight
lifting you may find that high protein diets work best for you,
as they aid in the training you are doing with your body. High
protein diets that reincorporate and moderate fats and carbohydrates
can be a healthy alternative to the low carb high fat diets out
there today.
A simple brisk walk around your black for 30 minutes a day will amaze you at
how much of a difference it will make in your overall outcome while dieting.
Aerobic exercise will burn calories aid in the maintanance of your metabolism
by reducing muscle loss. You do not need to follow a strenuous, exercise
routine to lose weight- swimming, walking, light jogging, yoga- all of these
things will get you on the right track. If you are facing a challenge with
obesity, try not to stress you body out with taking on a high impact exercise
routine until you have reached a comfortable weight.
If you are interested in increasing your muscle mass try a little
weight training- start off slow and light and gradually build
up to a harder workout. This will burn less calories per session,
but it will increases your metabolism. Weight training is often
a great way for heavier adults to get the blood pumping, the
heart rate up, and aid in the uncomfort they feel when placed
in a highly active aerobic exercise class.
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