Don't Be A Yo Yo

A lot of people are thinking about the new year and how they will begin a diet. This is never an easy thing to do and, for most people, the thought is overwhelming and the fear is very real. There is a bottomless well of information out there so most people wonder "Where do I even begin??".
I can tell you from personal experience that diets, for the most part, don't work. In fact, if you don't believe me, ask Oprah (if she'll talk to you) because she has said it on her show many times. Diets force you to eliminate certain foods from your life. Eventually, you add them back in and start gaining the weight again. This can become a vicious cycle causing you to gain and lose weight which, according to medical experts, is dangerous for your health. Aside from dieting, what else can you do?
The most important thing to do is to continue eating. Food is our fuel and our body needs it to maintain a healthy metabolism. Our metablosim is responsible for burning the calories and without food, our metablosim will come to a screeching halt. First and foremost, visit your doctor. Most people need to get themselves checked out first to make sure everything is in good working order and that there are no under-lying reasons for weight gain (or loss for that matter). For me, the best approach to losing weight is cutting back on the foods I like to eat (especially snack foods) and cutting down on portion size. We are a country that loves and serves up huge helpings of food (super size, biggie size). Regular size portions are all any person needs to fuel their metabolism. So, if you do still want your cheeseburgers and fries, just get the regular size or, better still, get a kid's meal with a diet soda or bottle of water. Instead of having six cookies as a snack, just have one and an apple to with it. Instead of having two eggs with buttered toast in the morning, just have one egg or one with the yolk and one without and one slice of light bread with some suger-free jam. Add more fruits and vegetables to your meal plan and less chips and fries. Believe it or not, little changes like these add up and the end of the day in terms of less calories and fat and eventually, if you stick with it, you will slowly begin to see a weight loss. Losing weight slowly is really the best way to do it anyway and has proven itself to be the best way to keep the weight off once you've lost it. One of the best tricks to keeping yourself honest, is keeping a food journal. This isn't as hard as you think. All you need is a little notepad where you can jot down everything you eat. When you see it in writing, it becomes more tangible and it helps to keep you focused on what you should be eating and what you should avoid. Almost all nutritional counselors urge their clients to keep a journal because this form of accountability helps people really connect with their object of losing the weight. It takes away from the mindless eating that a lot of us do when we are stressed out, upset or depressed and puts the focus back on eating only when we are hungry. Whatever you chose to do, I am here for you doing exactly what you're doing. We can be diet buddies!