Losing weight is not an easy task; this much is a proven fact. But what's tougher than losing weight is keeping it off. In fact before anyone has a chance to realize the weight is coming on again, its all back on! Naturally there are reasons behind such a back and forth of weight gain, loss and gain once more.
When you relent to certain methods of weight loss, it ends up being a temporary effect. These are a few of those methods commonly practiced:
- Crash Dieting: Diets that mostly concentrate on liquids intake can help lose fat plus some body fluids associated with fat that is if a person is indeed overweight. But if your weight is about 4-5 kg over the mark, then you may end up losing substantial muscle too. This loss of muscle triggers rebound weight gain.
- Tablets and Pills: Certain tablets contain appetite depressants which artificially suppress appetite, resulting in the individual eating less and then losing weight. The problem arises after some time when the person starts to have side effects, hence needs to leave the pills; naturally then the weight creeps right back on.
- Artificial gadgets to lose weight: Besides being completely banned in the United States, they also do not really assist in any real weight loss. In fact people who do diet along with this, do crash diets; now this creates an imbalance in the body (the body reacts to this like in a famine situation and starts hoarding fat "even more efficiently").
The Right Way of Losing Weight
Just as there may be some wrong methods to lose weight, there are also some right ones. For instance:
- Weight loss is directly proportional to your effort, till the time your efforts are in the healthy direction results will show. When you go back to unhealthy eating habits, the weight will come back! Every one who diets and exercises sporadically will always suffer rebound weight gain.
- Deprivation will always result in binge eating; therefore it is very necessary that your favorite foods should be eaten at least once a week.
- All unhealthy habits are part of the mind so one has to consciously wean oneself away and look for healthy substitutes (habits are easier to change if they are substituted by some healthy habits).
- A basic walk for 30 minutes 5 times a week is as important as breathing and is counted as a necessity not a luxury.
- Dinner calories can make or break a diet so it is imperative to eat a light dinner at least 4 times a week.
- Very heavy exercises do not serve the weight loss process so one must not be overcome by quick weight loss by adopting a heavy exercise approach.
- Give time to yourself and the body to shed weight, any weight loss plan which makes you lose more than ½ to 1 kg a week is bound to backfire.
- As far as your will power allows junk the junk food!
- Don't give up! Consistency is the key to success, failures are part of success. Be diligent when it comes to your health.
- Seek support; if the family also eats healthy then the individual is more likely to get success.
- Last but not the least, it's important to not compare and then despair. We all have individual constitutions and such useless comparisons only bring about frustrations.
Useful article.