How often have you noticed that formerly normal-weight people have gradually gained weight throughout the years? Or dieters who have lost a significant amount of weight and then gained it back quickly?
Should people even try to lose weight at all? The answer is yes, if they are already having weight-related health problems or if they are putting on extra weight every year and so are likely to have health problems in the future. On the other hand, studies that have examined how much weight people are able to lose and how much they are able to keep off long term are fairly dismal. Most people gain weight back. Here is a surefire formula for gaining weight:
- Lose weight quickly.
- Go back to your old way of eating when you lose weight.
- Continue to eat and exercise exactly as you have been as you get older.
- Eat in the way "everyone else" is.
- Make excuses for why it's okay to eat when you shouldn't.
Each of these items is explained below.
- Lose weight quickly: One of the best ways to gain weight quickly is to drastically cut your calories. Research shows that the faster people lose weight, the faster they tend to regain it.
- Go back to your old way of eating when you lose weight: It's plain biology. If you lose weight on 1200 calories a day, for example, and then your weight plateaus, you will start to gain weight back once you go up to 1300 calories a day. That's the equivalent of one good sized apple or four crackers. And if you return to eating 2,000 or 3,000 calories, as perhaps you did before, of course your weight will increase.
- Continue to eat and exercise exactly as you have been as you get older: It seems unfair, but it's true. Metabolism tends to decrease with age. If you don't start eating less and/or exercising more, you'll gain weight. Now it's reasonable to gain a little weight, especially if you're eating in a healthy way, but those pounds can really add up as the decades go by.
- Eat in the same way you assume everyone else is: It's possible that you know the rare person who can consume a great number of calories a day and not gain weight. But it's more likely that the people you know (especially if they're over 40), are either restricting their eating in some way or are themselves gaining weight each year. In any case, it's irrelevant. If you don't want to gain weight, you'll need to figure out what's right for you to eat -- which isn't necessarily right for another person.
- Make excuses for why it's okay to eat when you shouldn't: Your body processes calories in exactly the same way, regardless of circumstances. It doesn't care if you're stressed, tired, or celebrating; if it's a special occasion; if no one is watching you eat; or if the food is free. It may be reasonable to plan in advance to eat a little more in some circumstances but understand that if you don't compensate by exercising more or cutting an equivalent number of calories another time, you will gain weight.
It seems unfair. It's so hard to lose weight and so easy to gain it back. But once you learn the cognitive (thinking) and behavioral skills you need, the process of losing and maintaining a weight loss (it's the same process!) becomes much easier.
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New ideas suggest that breast feeding may be the key to both overweight and underweight problems. The idea is that the lack of at least one year of breast feeding for infants is causing both overweight and underweight problems across the world.
Infants develop a food in pattern with breast feeding, then a waste out pattern with weaning - probably in the ENS, Enteric Nervous System, or digestion brain, that subconsciously programs us for our lives.
If the child is not breast fed - the infant will be 'hungry' from then on. He will feel like he has to take in excess food just to get the necessary nurturing he was denied as an infant. He will move toward food and become overweight. The overriding emotion is Anger. Oral Personality
This should be easy to test. Those with weight problems should be infants that were NOT breast fed for one year. Google breast milk + obesity for studies.
"Before 1900, most mothers breastfed their infants. Breastfeeding rates declined sharply worldwide after 1920, when evaporated cow's milk and infant formula became widely available. " - faqs.org
Positive thinking-Make a decision that you will succeed and keep moving ahead toward your goal. Make small goals, achieve them, reward yourself and watch as small goals turn into big goals. Do not be defeated by a stumble. Brush yourself off and keep going!
Don't compare your weight or weight loss with others. When you climb Mount Everest you don't worry about other people getting you there. This is your goal.
This is a lifestyle not diet. Let this be your matra. Nothing you are doing is temporary.
Slow weight loss has it's advantages. For one it gives you time to adapt to learned behavior. small changes=big changes over time.
Study the Mediterranean Diet. Lean about the benefits of whole foods over processed foods.
Incorporate activity into your daily life. Do it in ways you will succeed. Keep it interesting.
Don't deprive yourself. Incorporate treats into your new life. If you're too restrictive you will fail.
Cook, learn about food. Be excited about eating healthy.
Journal, weigh yourself, make sure you stay accountable. Keep track of your progress.
Remember this is a lifelong process. And it's about keeping yourself happy and healthy.
(1) Metabolism does not slow down.
(2) When two friends, who believed they exercised and ate the same with one putting on more weight because of "slowed metabolism" were monitored, it turned out the metabolism of both was normal, and the one who put on the weight actually ate quite a bit more.
(3) As we get older, it is not a matter of metabolism slowing down but exercise slowing down and eating speeding up.
Not in the documentary but true:
Calories in do not equal calories out, as out-of-shape dietitians tried to tell us for years. They never factored in that little thing called insulin triggered by carbs (turn into sugar in our bodies) and sugar.
We have to burn 3,500 calories to lose a pound. Running between four to five miles an hour for an hour on the treadmill will burn between 400 and 500 calories. That explains in a nutshell why it is so difficult to lose weight once the pounds are packed on.
High-density carbs and sugar treats were not in such abundance when we were younger. They are now, so overweight has becoma a plight of the young as well.
The fact that we need to 'burn' 3500 calories to lose one pound proves that an overall lifestyle change is needed in order to lose weight. This is why exercise alone is not a good plan for overall weight reduction.
Calories in, calories out is a simple method for losing weight. But I think science will show that processed food and artificial ingredients do play a factor. For one thing processed foods have already been processed, while whole foods need more work done by the body.
I am doing a Different Diet Weekly and the weight is coming off slowly and I am not bored, I am learning about all sorts of diets and finding out what works and what doesn't. I write about every diet & what I am going through daily.
You have to be ready to diet.
You have to find something that interests you enough to do the diet.
You have to see some sort of results to make you stick with the diet.
When you see that initial quick drop in pounds that is an incentive to keep going - people seem to lose interest when the weight loss slows or stops. We all want instant results. The fact is we did not gain all the weight instantly, so for it to be gone instantly isn't going to happen.
A magic pill is not out there. The desire to lose weight has to come from within along with the motivation to continue.
Bottom line is to not give up...everyone cheats on a diet, it''s being able to get right back on the diet after the cheat that makes you successful.
Remember do not do any diet without talking to your doctor first - your doctor will turn out to be one of your biggest cheerleaders in helping you to
Failing to address that will result in continuing failure to maintain a healthy weight.
Read Gary Taubes.
http://diet.topwebreview.com
It worked for me.
First, diet. People eat too much in part because they lost the correct perception of hunger. Instead of a sign of normal metabolism (everyone should feel hungry couple hours before meals), slightest signs of hunger have become a stress signal to our bodies with the immediate stress response to eat. And when stress hormones are released, our bodies don’t have much choice but to demand food. Occasionally skipping meals, going to an exercise class when feeling a little hungry (but make sure you’re not hypoglycemic) or going on a several days back-packing trip can all help you perceive that being slightly hungry is not the end of the world and can actually feel pretty good during exercise.
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I find that to be true.
Second, exercise. Exercising without liking it is close to meaningless because it’s unsustainable. Find something you like, be it running, swimming, yoga or team sports. Again, emphasis on how much calorie-burning any particular kind is, isn’t important in the long-term change of perceptions – once you find something you like and establish the first step to a more active life-style, your body will start changing its settings and you’ll be surprised at how much easier and even pleasant the formerly hated cardio-routines may become.
I'm 24, and I started doing this diligently now to basically plan for my 40s. It's #3 on this list that catches my attention the most. And my questions is: Should I switch up my workout every six months? Every year? I already switch up my reps and motions every day within my workout, but as for overall workout, how often should I add new exercises in order to maintain my healthy weight?
It's such a struggle to maintain/lose weight but I am determined to get back down to my previous weight.