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One thing's for sure: going on one diet after another, losing weight and
gaining it back, isn't going to help you in the long run.
In fact, this so called "yo-yo dieting" has the opposite effect.
When you severely restrict your food intake, your body tries
to protect against starvation. Your metabolism slows down
as your body tries to conserve energy. Calories burn more
slowly. Then, when you get sick of your diet and start eating
more food, your body gains weight more easily. It's a vicious
cycle.
Changing
the way you think about food is a good way to get yourself
on a healthy track. The only way to succeed in maintaining
weight loss is to find a healthy way of eating that you can
live with over the long term. Not a diet, but a way of life.
Taking
a more moderate approach can help:
Change
your expectations about feeling satisfied. Most of us
have been fortunate enough to have plenty of food available
to us. There's an abundance of food, and we eat it because
it's there. So we get used to that stuffed feeling, and come
to equate that with feeling satisfied.
Read
food labels to get a sense of how much to eat and nutrients
available. You don't have to go crazy with the numbers,
but food labels can really help you. They can give you an
idea about healthy portion sizes, how much fiber you're getting,
vitamins and minerals, etc.
Recognize
if problems with food are about more than food, and get treatment.
In our culture, it's easy to have distorted thinking about
body image. Obesity rates are higher than ever, but eating
disorders are also a major health concern. If you feel obsessive
about food, talk with your doctor, nutritionist or a therapist.
Eating disorders are dangerous and need immediate treatment.
Make
small changes, especially at first. It can be overwhelming
if your plan is to reach a super-model ideal. A more realistic
goal is to get yourself to the point where your risk for heart
disease, cancer, stroke and diabetes are not increased because
of weight. Moderate changes can lower your risk dramatically.
If you're overweight but not obese, simply waking 30 minutes
a day and losing 15 pounds may be all it takes to lower your
risk of health problems.
On the
other hand, if you're severely overweight to the point that
your health is affected, it's time to talk with your doctor
and make a plan for lowering your risk of serious health problems
down the road.
Source:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; National Heart,
Lung, and Blood Institute; Journal of the American Medical
Association, 12 December 2001.
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