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People
always ask me about the best diet to lose weight. Oftentimes, I can
sense their disappointment when I tell them that there is no magic
formula. Making exercise and sensible eating habits a part of our
lifestyle is the only sure way to achieving permanent weight control.
Severe restrictive diets, are only temporary measures at best, and
health destroyers at worst. Not only that, but people who make dieting
a lifestyle become obsessed with becoming thin "at any cost" and often
find that they've lost their emotional well-being in the process,
according to Greg Phillips and Gail Johnston, authors of "Redefining
Success with Healthy Eating" (American Council on Exercise Certified
News). In
their article, they say that success can only come when your food
and exercise choices are based on reasonable, realistic and pleasurable
actions that can be maintained for a lifetime. This concept has been
called the "non-dieting" approach to weight management.
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It is not a new concept having been around for many years but it is
now being espoused by many weight loss experts. You can help yourself
lose weight without dieting (in the old-fashioned sense of the word)
by understanding the following eight beliefs.
There
is no such thing as being on or off a diet.
Being on a diet implies that one day you will get off the diet and
then you will be back to square one - back to the very lifestyle and
eating habits that got you overweight to begin with. A client recently
told me that the very thought of being on a diet made her hungry and
want to eat everything in sight. I agree. It used to happen to me
too when I was still stuck in Diet Fantasy Land. Phillips and Johnston
say that it is better to adopt a way of life with healthier habits
that work for you rather than using a plan that someone else imposes
on you.
There
is no right or wrong way to eat.
According to Phillips and Johnston, healthy eating is all about moderation
and balance. They say there are bound to be times when something tastes
so good you eat beyond fullness. On the other hand, your schedule
gets so busy you miss a meal or snack. That's normal. However, they
warn that starving or overeating as a regular pattern is emotionally
and physically debilitating. They explain that a lifetime eating plan
is one that allows for the curves life throws your way. It includes
all the foods you normally eat. And it produces a secure and comfortable
feeling that food is not your enemy.
There
are no good foods or bad foods.
Neither are you a saint or sinner for eating certain foods. There
is room in a healthy diet for a chocolate bar - the secret is how
often and in what amounts. Phillips and Johnston point out that the
greatest barrier to adopting healthy eating habits is guilt. I know
the scenario so well - you feel so guilty for eating a slice of pizza
that you say, "Oh, what the heck. I might as well "sin" all the way
and have four more slices."
If you're
not satisfied with the way you're eating, there's probably something
else going on.
Our eating habits are about hunger but not always the physical kind.
There are other kinds of "hunger" that we try to satisfy with food
- stress, boredom, depression, anger, etc. Phillips and Johnston say
that you can put an end to destructive eating patterns by figuring
out what situations, emotions or stressors are causing you to overeat.
Pay attention to when, where, what and how you eat.
You don't
need to cook and eat every meal at home in order to eat healthfully.
Yes, it is possible to eat out and still eat healthy. The secret is
to learn to make wise food decisions. The goal, according to Phillips
and Johnston, is to strike a balance between the foods you desire
for taste and those you want for health.
Small
changes make a big difference.
The same client who said to me that dieting made her think of food
was also surprised to find out that even making small changes like
cutting half the amount of mayonnaise in her sandwiches could make
a difference in the long run. Phillips and Johnston write that when
it comes to making successful long-term change, every small change
you make adds up. As an example, they say that suppose the only habit
you change right now is eating healthy snacks more regularly. They
claim that this will have a boomerang effect on the rest of your eating
habits because you won't feel hungry all the time.
Eating
should be a pleasurable experience.
Forcing yourself to eat "diet" food that you despise will only make
you unsatisfied and set you up for an eating binge. Eating is one
of the great pleasures in life. This doesn't, however, mean a license
to become a glutton. The key is moderation and balance.
Find activities,
any activities, that involve movement and try to fit them in whenever
you can.
People often give me the excuse that they cannot be fit because they
do not have the time, money or desire to go to a gym. Of course, I
gently remind them that they have no excuse because there are so many
ways to become fit - walking, swimming, dancing, martial arts, sports,
etc. Choose the movement activity you enjoy the most - whatever it
is - and you will find that you can do it for a lifetime because,
as Phillips and Johnston put it, you will "play the game" on your
own terms.
How to
make these beliefs work for you.
Phillips and Johnston realize that it takes time, practice and patience
to eliminate unproductive thoughts and actions. They say you can help
yourself along this "unlearning" process to achieving better health
by doing the following.
- Focus on the
process, not the end result. Take it one day at a time.
- Focus on your
habits, not your weight. It was your habits that got you overweight
in the first place. Concentrate on changing those habits and you
will lose the weight.
- Gauge your
progress by your new healthy habits and attitudes and not by how
much weight you are losing.
- Realize that
there are always reasons why you do the things you do. Your challenge,
according to Phillips and Johnston, is to discover what the reasons
are for your behaviors (for example, overeating).
- Develop a new
language of self-acceptance and empowerment. Don't demand perfection
from yourself because attempts to be perfect only lead to failure.
- Trust yourself
to know what's best for you.
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