Diet vs Lifestyle Change – Part 2

For many this knowledge comes as an epiphany. After years of dieting and traveling on the yo-yo train they finally come to realize that a “diet” brings nothing more than fatigue, frustration and aggravation. Instead, they turn to a knowledge that they have held for years but were often unwilling to acknowledge because now it appears as if they must deprive themselves forever of the foods and activities they once loved.

Nutritional changes are best accomplished in moderation. This means that totally depriving yourself of chocolate ice cream, pizza or the bread and butter will only lead to another roller coaster ride that you finally fall off of. Instead, it is important to accomplish changes in nutrition slowly, methodically and deliberately.

By acknowledging that your previous dietary habits have led you to a place where it was necessary to consider losing weight you can also help yourself to find moderately small changes in your diet that will lead to a successful end goal. For instance, you may start by eliminating regular soda from your diet and replacing it with diet soda. Then slowly over time, you can also eliminate diet soda, full of empty calories and no nutrition. Or you may start by decreasing the amount of ice cream or candy you eat each day. You can also replace that morning doughnut with a cup of yogurt.

By slowly changing your habits your weight will not rebound and you will not have difficulty when you go out with your friends. Consider that we are what we eat and that the old adage “garbage in, garbage out” holds just as true for our nutritional intake as it does for the data we input into our computer.

Permanent dietary changes and nutritional intake are your goals when your ultimate goal is to lose weight and gain a healthy lifestyle. You can only accomplish this through diligent work and not quick fad diets or promises of numbers of pounds lost each day. Do not get sucked in by advertising promises but remember that you are caring for the only body you have which has been built to last your lifetime.