Your diet could be making you fat. So says Karen Protheroe, well-known dietician.
“People diet for a number of reasons: to fit into that old dress, to feel accepted by society, because of low self-esteem, unhealthy eating habits and it gives most people a sense of control,” according to Protheroe. “But they seldom work in the long run.”
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Why should people stop dieting?
Protheroe describes the typical diet cycle and why it doesn't work: All diets have a cycle. They start with deprivation and a reliance on willpower. Often willpower is not strong enough. This then results in bingeing. A strong feeling of failure and low self-esteem then occurs. Followed by more bingeing and self-recrimination.
Most diets don’t include an exercise schedule. Metabolism decreases. There is a preoccupation with food and weight. There is no psychological preparation for being thin. Diets are often impractical and unbalanced. They don’t teach you how to maintain weight loss this results in regaining the weight you lost. Diets don’t work for everybody.
How to stop dieting
Protheroe gave the following tips on how to stop dieting and finally lose that weight:
Change your goal. Look at why you diet. The goals of those who diet are often unpractical and temporary. The goals of those who lose weight and maintain weight are be healthy, to increase energy and fitness levels, have strong control over appetite and cravings and for specific health reasons. These goals entail lifestyle modifications rather than short-term changes.
Why do you eat? Do you eat because you are hungry (stomach hunger) or because you feel like it (mouth hunger)? Ask yourself if you are an emotional eater, an exercise eater, are you eating to reward yourself, is it pre-diet bingeing, association or avoidance eating or are you a seasonal eater? Identify your reason for eating and find alternative ways to satisfy your emotions. Change your habits.
Look at when you eat. You should eat every three to four hours. Don’t skip meals. This will lead to overeating and bingeing.
Look at where you eat. Do you eat in the kitchen, in front of the television, at work? We often do not concentrate when we are eating and this leaves us feeling unsatisfied. Sit at a table and focus on every mouthful.
Look at what you eat. Learn to read food labels. This will help you to make healthy food choices when buying food and eating out.
Natural weight loss action plan
Write down 10 reasons why you want to lose weight
Keep a record of what, when, and where you eat
Identify your reasons for eating: is it mouth or stomach hunger?
Eat every three to four hours
Get organised and plan your meals ahead
Eat a diet high in unrefined carbohydrates
Have moderate amounts of low fat products
Don’t forget the good fats
Don’t weigh yourself
Be patient and focus on the cause (incorrect eating) and not the problem (weight)
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