How to Stop the Yo-Yo Dieting and Lose Weight Quickly
If you are what is known as a yo-yo dieter, you know the frustrations of finding a successful diet plan that helps you achieve your weight loss goals, only to regain the weight after the “dieting” period is over. Many people find that they not only regain the weight they had lost, but also manage to add a few pounds to the scale.
This pattern of determination to lose weight, pride in achievement of the goal, then disappointment and frustration at the regain stages, prompts many of those who need to lose weight for health reasons to just give up and try to resolve themselves to the idea that they are supposed to be overweight.
The simple truth is that there is no ideal weight that is right for everyone.
Some people are tall, some are short, some are black, some are white, some are thin, some are heavy. We are all individuals, and we cannot be cookie cut to fit some ideal mold that Hollywood has predetermined as the right way to look.
What we do need to do, is be as health conscious as we can, to avoid medical complications later in life that will make our “golden” years miserable.
Be Sensible
Sensible eating habits sometimes need to be taught. As most of us eat as our parents ate and fed us, the new knowledge of what foods are healthy or unhealthy was simply not available when we were young. The advent of prepared meals from the supermarket, the microwave, and processed foods were designed to make the housewife’s job quicker and easier. Now we know that many of the ingredients in the “prepared” foods that make mealtime a ‘heat and eat’ event, are full of fats and preservatives that can be unhealthy. At the very least, the benefits of raw fruits and vegetables and lean meats have been sorely neglected in our efforts to make mealtime quick and easy.
Stick to the Food Pyramid
The standard Food Pyramid, which in recent years has replaced the Four Food Groups, illustrates the importance of certain types of food products over others in our daily meal planning. Be sure to refer to the Food Pyramid when making food choices. You’ll be surprised at how much more meat we eat than we should, and how little of the required fruits and vegetables we are actually consuming.
Add More Raw Fruits and Veggies to Your Diet
As a simple way to improve on overall health, add raw or lightly cooked vegetables and fruits to every meal, and try to build the habit of reaching for fruit rather than a sweet snack. As our country has moved away from farming and toward processing of food products, we have lost the exercise level of physically working for our meals and have replaced it with over processed food products which seem easier to prepare, but are detrimental to our heart and circulation.
By simply consuming the correct amount of meat and plant products on a daily basis, in addition to moderate exercise three times a week and plenty of water, we will all find ourselves not looking like Hollywood models, but rather feeling younger, more energetic, and more excited about living.