Advertisements abound for diet plans, products, and pills
that promise quick and painless weight loss. But after years of
losing weight on crash diets and then gaining it back, many are
at last realizing that there must be a better way. There is, and
it is such a simple formula that many have difficulty in
believing it:
Reduce calorie intake and increase exercise.
Of course there are many things you must learn in order to carry out the
formula, none of which are difficult:
-
calorie content of foods eaten
-
preparation methods that are low in calories
-
calorie expenditures for your activities
-
and an exercise program that becomes a way of life.
A weight control diet is not something you can do for a few weeks and then
abandon the principles you have learned. It must become your lifestyle
eating pattern.
If you are tempted to try some of the popular weight control
diets or programs, you should carefully evaluate the diet plan
for its success toward long-term weight control. Avoid:
-
any diet that calls for less than 1000 calories a day
-
any diet that dramatically emphasizes one type of food and
excludes other whole food groups (obviously not a balanced
diet)
-
any diet that does not include exercise as a requirement for
weight loss (walking is excellent)
-
diets with claims of fat loss greater than two pounds a
week.
You can easily lose several pounds of weight through fluid loss
without any real benefit. Fat is tissue, and it must be
metabolized. Avoid diets that don't tell you how to change
eating habits.
Loss of just 10 to 15 percent of starting body weight is
often enough to bring down fasting blood sugar, blood pressure
and blood cholesterol.
So, what should you do? Follow the Food Guide Pyramid.
Limit your consumption of fried and highly processed foods.
Don't deny yourself foods that you enjoy. Just limit the amount
of them that you eat.
Control the amount that you eat by watching portion sizes,
especially at restaurants. Eat slowly and let your stomach
"catch-up" to you and let you know that your are full. Read
labels and don't assume that "low-fat" means "low-calorie".
Eat when you are hungry. Learn to feed your appetite not
your emotions. Don't skip meals. Over-eating is your body's
natural response to food restriction.
Find an aerobic activity that you enjoy that can be easily
done. Most successful "losers" simply WALK! Try to do that
activity 3 to 5 times a week for at least 20 minutes each time.
Add some strength training with wrist and ankle weights to
increase lean tissue. You really will burn more calories while
you sleep! Remember, the only way to lose weight is to burn more
calories than you take in.
This page created by Margie
Yarnell, Extension Secretary/Webmaster.
Continue to next
week's
article
Return to Homespun
Homepage
