Are you one of the thousands of people who have been overeating this Christmas? Have you promised yourself that one of your new year’s resolutions is to go on a diet and sort out that weight problem once and for all?
If you are then I would urge you to think again! The vast majority of new year’s resolutions end in failure before January is out. Unfortunately, the vast majority of people who go on a diet also fail to lose weight in the long run. So my advice to anyone wanting to lose weight is to avoid dieting and new year’s resolutions and start thinking more long term.
The vast majority of people who go on a diet do so because they believe that it is the fastest way to lose weight. Whilst it is true that most people do lose some weight when they first go on a diet, the fact is that in the long run diets are not an effective way of losing weight and keeping it off. Why? Simple, because a diet is only a temporary measure and as soon as you go back to your normal eating pattern, you will start to put weight on again. This is why many people end up yo-yo dieting for years on end.
However, there are simple lifestyle changes you can make which will help you to lose weight without resorting to the latest fad diet. One of the most successful ways of controlling your weight is to change the way you think about food so that you can change your relationship with food ( and no, I don’t mean hypnosis or any type of brainwashing). If you can change the way you think about food, you can develop a really effective tool for dealing with the emotional cravings you get for certain types of food.
Try to adopt a healthy eating pattern. This is not the same as a diet. A diet is where you adopt a temporary strict eating regime which is usually very restrictive in the types of food you can eat, which exactly why most fail, because you simply get sick and tired of being told what you can and cannot eat. What I’m suggesting is that you eat healthy meals which are balanced with the right nutrients. Try to eat plenty of fresh fruit, vegetables, fish and lean meat and avoid processed foods such as ready meals and foods with a high sugar or fat content.
Also, to speed up your metabolism and help your body to burn calories naturally, try to eat six small meals at regular intervals throughout the day rather than three large ones. You will only take in the same amount calories but the intake will be spread more regularly.
Another simple but effective tip is to cut down on the amount of tea and coffee you drink each day and avoid sugary drinks like fizzy pop altogether. Instead, try to drink at least eight glasses of water every day. You will notice immediately how effective this is for keeping hunger at bay.
So forget new year’s resolutions and dieting. Just promise yourself that from now on you will take action with these simple lifestyle changes. If you follow these few tips you will be amazed at how much weight you can lose without resorting to horrible diets that are impossible to stick to.