|
|
Reprinted...
20 Unexpected Reasons Why Dieting Fails
You're determined to drop that weight, and this time you're doing
everything right. You're cutting fat-packed foods from your diet as
much as you can. You're stoking up on fresh fruits and veggies,
whole-grain breads and cereals. Plus, you're exercising more
consistently than you have in recent memory. So then, why aren't you
shedding those pounds?
It's maddening when you honestly believe you're putting forth your
best effort and it's still not being rewarded as you feel it should
be. Your diet dilemma could have of a number of explanations; it's
just a matter of understanding what's going on and making a few
simple switches. Check the list below and see which, if any, apply
to you. Make the necessary adjustments, and before you know it, your
weight loss will soon be back on track.
1. Being too rigid. "Many people believe that being perfect in their
diet will guarantee success, but it's actually more important to be
flexible than to be rigid," says registered dietitian Judy E.
Marshel, director of Health Resources of Great Neck, New York. Say
that your favorite restaurant, where you could always count on
having a delicious, low-fat meal, suddenly goes out of business, and
now you have to explore other, unfamiliar ones, and you're afraid to
adjust your menu. Your attitude may then be, "Well, if I can't have
what I was planning to have, I'll have whatever I want." And that,
explains Marshel, may set up a new cycle of overeating and dieting.
Because life is bound to throw you a curveball every now and then,
you might as well get used to the notion that you and your diet will
have to adapt. An unexpected change in plan need not mean the
beginning of the end of your weight-loss program.
2. Not eating enough! Your metabolism is a tricky devil. Eat too
much, and it won't be able to burn all those calories, so, natch,
you gain weight. Eat too little, and your metabolism--perceiving
that you're starving yourself and desperate to help your body hang
on to the calories you are consuming--slows to a crawl. Result?
Little or no weight loss. Studies have repeatedly shown that drastic
calorie-cutting diets don't work, not in the long run and sometimes
not even in the short run. All the pros today agree that it's just
as vital to eat sufficient quantities of the right foods (fruits,
vegetables, grains) as it is to cut back on the wrong ones (fats,
sugar, alcohol). Warns Marshel, "If you don't consume enough
calories, even if you're on a weight-loss plan, you may see a
slowing down or even a total cessation of your weight loss."
3. Not satisfying those cravings. "In order to lose weight
succesfully," says Ronna Kabatznick, Ph.D., psychological consultant
to Weight Watchers International and a specialist in weight
control "you have to have a certain level of inner satisfaction,
which you get by eating things that make you feel good. If you don't
eat those things, you'll walk around feeling deprived on a
psychological level and deprived on a physical level, and eventually
you'll binge or start eating more of the things you don't
particularly want." So if you're a chocoholic, for instance, appease
your need for the sweet stuff with a fat-free frozen chocolate pop
or a low-fat chocolate shake whipped up in the blender. Even half of
an honest-to-goodness chocolate bar every once in a blue moon won't
hurt. Giving yourself a little of what you crave now and then will
actually help you choose the rest of your meals more wisely.
4. Falling off the wagon. Diets may not work as well the second,
third or fourth time around. When you embark on a weight-loss diet
for the very first time, your body typically sheds some water, some
fat and some muscle mass. But anytime you put weight back on, your
body only regains fat, which is harder to lose than muscle. So if
you're a diet veteran, don't be surprised if it's taking longer and
requiring a greater effort to make those extra pounds go away. New
tactics might be in order. If, say, your diet is now about 30
percent calories from fat, try cutting back to the 25 percent range.
Additional time on the stationary bike or the jogging path each week
may also be needed to coax off that unwanted weight. Be patient--
your persistence will pay off.
5. Disregarding seasonal and activity changes. "People who go on
diets think that they have to follow the same food plan in every
situation--summer or winter, during vacations--but it's not true,"
says Kabatznick. "Some days you're more active than others, some
days you may eat out more. Also, you should have extra food in
winter because it's cold and you need more calories to keep your
body warm." So take your activity level and the seasons into account
and vary your diet accordingly for the best possible weight-loss
results.
6. Taking certain medications. Unfortunately, if you have health
problems that require certain prescription drugs, they may slow down
your weight loss. For instance, corticosteroids, used to treat
rheumatoid arthritis, tend to cause water retention and stimulate
the appetite. Check with your doctor to see how you can make the
appropriate adjustments in your diet while continuing your
medication. In all likelihood, a stepped-up exercise program will do
the trick.
7. Changing body needs. As you age, your body just naturally
requires less energy (that means fewer calories) to maintain its
current weight. So whatever may have worked before in helping you
shed pounds may not quite do the trick with each succeeding
birthday. Be prepared, therefore, to either reduce your caloric
intake a little or increase your level of exercise.
8. Losing your perspective. "Many people invest so much in the
idealization of having a thinner body that when that thinner body is
nearly theirs and their fantasies don't come true, they get
disappointed," explains Kabatznick. What happens then? Usually some
unconscious overeating here and there, or a slow, subtle loss of
interest in exercise. No wonder the extra pounds are still hanging
around. "If you're realistic," says Kabatznick, "you'll know that
losing weight means you'll have a thinner body and a healthier
lifestyle, but it won't change who you are."
9. "Invisible" eating. "They're the little things you're not even
aware you're eating--that piece of candy in your purse, that extra
pretzel, those foods that come with sauces that you just accept,"
notes Carole Livingston, author of I'll Never Be Fat Again. "You
think it's okay to have them, but it's not okay unless, of course,
you want to keep your weight stuck where it is."
10. Those old devil moods. "When I'm unhappy, my eating habits can
be poor, and I may eat more of something that I shouldn't, like ice
cream," admits Marie Simmons, author of The Light Touch. Sooner or
later, your emotional state is going to do a number on your
appetite, if you let it. Should you suddenly find yourself doing
more and more unconscious snacking by the light of the refrigerator
door, check your mood. Then figure out how to improve matters
without using food as a crutch.
11. Underestimating portion sizes. "When I ask people in my
classes, 'What's a half cup of spaghetti?' most people don't know.
On a plate, it looks pretty paltry," notes registered dietitian
Joann Heslin, co-author of The Pregnancy Nutrition Counter. "I try
to help them distinguish between the classic portion--a half cup to
one cup of spaghetti, for example--and the traditional portion,
which is a plateful. The traditional portion is often really two
portions. The same goes for meat. The classic portion is four ounces
of boneless meat, fish or poultry--a piece about the size of your
palm. If you think about how much meat you ate last night, you
probably ate more." The moral of the story: Without becoming fanatic
about portion sizes, start developing your awareness of how much
you're eating.
12. Taking baby steps instead of big ones. "It's actually easier for
many people to make dramatic changes in their eating than small
ones," insists Dean Ornish, M.D., who heads the Preventive Medicine
Research Institute in Sausalito, California. For example, he
says, "If you continue to eat red meat and merely reduce your
portion sizes, you'll feel deprived and you'll never really lose
your taste for it." As a result, you'll still crave it, keep eating
it, and probably have a hard time dropping those pounds. "But if you
give meat up completely, not only will you be eliminating a lot of
fat from your diet but after a while you won't even miss the taste."
13. Getting fooled by fats. "Dietary fats are the biggest deterrent
to weight loss," reminds Bernice Veckerelli, a chef at the Norwich
Inn & Spa in Norwich, Connecticut. "People are so programmed to
think about reducing their cholesterol, so they may have margarine
instead of butter, but they forget that one tablespoon of fat is one
tablespoon of fat." Consequently, she says, many people believe that
as long as they're sticking to heart-healthy fats such as olive and
canola oil, they can have lots of it. But if you do, those pounds
just won't come off as you'd like them to. "If you need to lose
weight, you automatically will, once you start to watch your fat
intake," Bernice promises.
14. Swimming! Swimming seems to fit the description of a great total-
body exercise, yet it doesn't measure up to other exercises when it
comes to fat burning. Researchers aren't quite sure why. Many
studies suggest that your appetite increases as your body
temperature decreases, so swimming in cold water may cause you to
eat more. And there is a chance that in response to the colder
temperatures of the water, your body will hoard fat for insulation
instead of burning it for fuel. But it may be possible to turn
swimming into a fine fat burner by applying the interval training
concept: Instead of swimming for 30 minutes straight at a low-to-
moderate pace, after about a 10-minute warm-up, pick up your pace
for four laps. Then drop back to a recovery pace for another four
laps. Keep alternating until you have about 5 minutes left. Then
finish your workout at your recovery pace. And if that doesn't work,
switch to another aerobic activity that's been proven to heat up the
body and burn fat, such as walking, cycling or cross-country skiing.
15. Getting bottled up. Check that label on the bottle of light beer-
-zero in the fat column. There's none there, right? That doesn't
make it okay. One study found that alcohol may impair the body's
ability to burn fat. Maybe that's why people who down more than two
drinks a day tend to pad up around their middles. Other studies
suggest that drinking a brew with a meal tends to make you
overeat. "I find that when I get a dieting man to stop drinking, it
makes it easier for him to deal with food, plus he can eat a lot
more," says Morton H. Shaevitz, Ph.D., director of the Institute for
Family and Work Relationships in La Jolla, California, and author of
Lean and Mean: The No Hassle, Life-Extending Weight Loss Program for
Men.
16. Being a member of the Clean Plate Club. Some habits die hard,
and many of us simply can't get used to the notion of deliberately
leaving food behind, especially when we've paid good money for it in
a restaurant. But as you're downing every last morsel on your plate,
keep in mind that you're probably eating more than your weight-loss
diet calls for.
17. Combining fat and sugar. You're in the mood for a treat. That's
fine every so often and in reasonable quantities. Just make sure
it's not cheesecake or any other combination of fat and sugar. The
decadent duo works to increase your waistline like this: When sugar
hits your bloodstream, your body releases a flood of insulin in
response. That insulin triggers your fat cells to open. So the fat
in the cheesecake that follows goes right into storage. If you must
eat fat, at least try not to combine it with sugar.
18. Letting down your guard. Something's different in your
environment or everyday routine. Changes in your daily life, both
subtle and obvious, may be responsible for your weight-loss slow-
down. Did a new pastry shop--conveniently located on your way to and
from work every day--just open? Did you move to a new city and, in
the process, lose your support circle? Has an injury or temporary
disability sidelined you from your normal exercise regimen? You may
now be taking in extra calories (or not burning off those you
typically burn) without even realizing it. Build awareness into your
daily activities, even the ones you may not automatically associate
with food. Once you do, you may find you're losing weight at a
better rate.
19. Eating to please another person. "Go on--have some! It's good!"
For every time you successfully sidestep that offer, there may be
one or two you simply can't resist. Your determination to eat only
when you want to may be solid, but it takes a steely will to refuse
to try one of your daughter's homemade brownies, or to keep from
disappointing your husband when he says he wants you to share some
pizza and beer with him after the movie. Diet saboteurs lurk
everywhere, and although they may insist they want to see you thin,
they may also want you to eat when you'd just rather not. For your
weight's sake, learn how to say no, graciously and firmly.
20. Calling it a "diet." Yes, you want to lose weight. But as Jim
Fobel, author of Jim Fobel's Diet Feasts, points out, "'Diet' sounds
like deprivation, and you will set yourself up for failure. Think of
what you're doing as making a healthy lifestyle change.
Makeovers to Last a Lifetime Sometimes the best way to learn how to
lose weight and keep it off is by following the sensible examples of
others who've done it successfully. Here is one inspiring real-life
story of a woman who changed her eating and exercise habits and
collectively lost hundreds of pounds. In the process she shed both a
host of health problems and a debilitating negative self-image.
A Walk on the Slim Side
At 42, Leslie Arnim is a diet expert. She knows all the weight-loss
plans that don't work for her, but happily, she discovered one that
works like a charm. When she weighed 360 pounds, she was still
trying diet programs like Weight Watchers. (She needed to lose 15
pounds before her weight would even register on their scale.) Even
though the organization helped Leslie lose her fat, her frustration
grew. "I was craving foods and feeling deprived," she recalls. "I
hated the idea of living the rest of my life with a food scale in my
purse and a weekly food diary to fill out!" That's when Leslie
decided to join the Prevention Walking Club, launching a walking
habit that has helped her shed 170 pounds and has taken her from a
size 56 to a size 14. Best of all, she's stayed there.
"When I first started my walking program, my knees and hips hurt
terribly. I consulted my doctor, and he said it was probably because
of my weight. He said that the pain was actually not as dangerous
for me as the fat. I just needed to keep at it, slowly." Leslie's
pain came and went. "It seemed as though every time I lost another
30 or 40 pounds, the aches would start again." But as she soon came
to realize, "My body was simply adapting to the changes brought
about by my weight loss.
"The walking club logbook really helped me during those painful
days. I would write down how far I walked and how I felt. Just
keeping a record really improved my mood and kept me in touch with
my accomplishments," she says. Today her knees are fine, her hips no
longer ache, and she has no sign of osteoarthritis. As far as her
eating habits are concerned, "I eat when I'm hungry," she
says. "Some days I eat a little more than I need, sometimes a little
less. It all seems to balance out.
I did a lot of reading about eating and emotions, and I got some
counseling on how I had always used food to soothe myself. These
days I watch my emotions more than I watch my calories. It works!"
And because Leslie dropped her weight slowly over a two-year period,
her face stayed relatively wrinkle-free. "But I had lots of sagging
skin on my belly and thighs. I used to look like one of those
Chinese dogs, all wrinkly," she says. "But I haven't had any
cosmetic surgery, and my skin actually seems to be shrinking as I
continue to walk and work out."
|
Thank you for the kind words and stay true to your plan!
Linear Mode
