To Diet or Not To Diet?
06 Jan 2012 Leave a Comment
January, as we all know, is the month when all the workout DVDs come in the shops, the Christmas food is thrown out and all you see on TV is ad after ad about how to lose weight and be slim.
One of my New Years Resolutions is to get back to a size 10. I am not alone. Many people will make a resolution to lose weight, to exercise more, to lose the tummy fat. Most will give up after 3 months. The gym will be full of January gymers and the streets pathed with January joggers. Admissions to Slimming World and Weight Watchers will go up and get slim quick products like Slimfast and diet pills with fly off the shelves. Foods like cheese and cake will be banned and replaced with low fat yoghurts and carrot sticks.
The problem people have today is that they want a quick fix. Lose weight fast diets like the maple syrup diet or slimfast will help you to lose weight but as soon as you come off the diet the weight goes straight back on and you normally end up being heavier than when you started the diet. I believe the key is to make lifelong changes and not to focus your energy too much on actually losing weight; it will just happen in time. I believe that if you change your diet to a healthy one without low fat substitutes that are full of sugar and who knows what else, and to exercise more then you’re on the road to success.
The basic principle is; if you burn off more calories than you eat then you will lose weight. According to some holistic therapist on the TV your body needs a minimum of 1378 calories per day to function properly, any less and you’re in trouble.
While I’m no longer a fan of faddy diets I do plan to reduce my intake of bread and all things sugary and increase my protein levels. This, I hope, will help me lose the weight while at the same time stay healthy. I will be keeping a video blog of my progress. If it’s doesn’t work then I will adapt it so that it does. The key thing to remember is that it should never be a chore. Food should be fun. I am a firm believer in not eating something you don’t like. I don’t care if it’s healthy or not. I know I won’t stick to a diet that insists I eat food I hate like grapefruit and celery.
The point I’m making is that you have to look after your body otherwise it will not look after you, and so the answer to my question “To Diet or Not to Diet”, I would have to say not. Diets are horrible and restrictive and will never work in the long term if they are hard to stick to. Healthier eating and plenty of exercise is the key to success.
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