Losing weight isn’t an easy thing to do, especially for women. Once you decide that you want to shed a couple of pounds here or there, or go all out and lose a lot more weight, it’s difficult to determine where to begin.
With the Internet at our disposal, all of the diets and fads that people have concocted and swear by can overwhelm and confuse those who want to begin the journey of losing weight. Some people are turned off by the idea of losing weight because of the inordinate amount of diets and health tips to follow. These make it hard for people to decide how they want to proceed, since these guides can often contradict each other.
What discourages a lot more people from following through with their plans of losing weight is their desire to see results quickly, a myth that many diets promise. People procrastinate on losing weight and yet are tired of being overweight. Especially in the age of the Internet, where instant gratification has been made possible, it’s natural that when we want something and want it as quickly as possible.
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People who pursue diets often do so in hopes that they will lose weight and see results quickly. This is not always the case, though. And as a result, many are disheartened and give up on their diets.
Does that mean that the people who want to lose weight and can’t are at fault, though? Not necessarily. The real issue lies at the core of the process, the word “diet.” Although diets are not inherently negative, how we have transformed what a diet means can be unproductive and unhealthy for people who seek to not only lose weight, but maintain a healthy lifestyle long afterward to keep that weight off.
Diets are temporary processes for losing weight. Usually the word diet follows words like “7-day” or “30-day,” or perhaps it’s hidden in rhetoric like “juice cleanse” or “raw food only.” But what happens after you’ve completed the diet? Many fall back into a cycle of eating poorly and then restarting a diet to lose the weight without learning how to maintain a healthy diet paired with exercise and lifestyle habits.
There aren’t lasting results when you simply kick certain foods off of your menu for a few weeks and then invite them back after.
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So let’s forget about the word “diet” and instead let’s focus on healthy eating, exercise and lifestyle changes. After all, your body is different from every other person’s, so diets that people hail as the cure-all process may not work with your body.
It’s important to listen to your body and how it responds to foods. Cutting out processed, fried and fast foods as well as refusing sweets and welcoming fresh ingredients are ways to start losing weight. It may sound like a diet, but it’s not; it’s a lifestyle change. When you begin to eat healthier, you’ll be surprised at how pleasant it makes you feel in comparison to diets which often leave people feeling miserable and craving unhealthy foods.
Taking out sodas and replacing them with water also helps tremendously with losing weight, but it’s vital to remember that results aren’t going to be instant and immediately recognizable. It may take time for your body to lose weight and through the process you just need to make sure you have patience and continue to care for yourself. It’s difficult at first to start and follow through with healthier eating habits, but it will eventually become part of your routine and will feel more natural as time goes on.
Diets are temporary, and once you’ve completed them, you might find yourself falling back into unhealthy eating habits. It takes more than a diet to transform your body in a lasting way – it takes a healthier lifestyle change which includes eating better and exercising regularly.
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Forcing yourself to only drink juices or eat beef and tomatoes for a month will allow you to lose weight, perhaps, but it will also confuse your body and even set you up to regain that weight after you’ve completed the diet. Choose instead to commit yourself to improving your eating habits and exercising more – you’ll feel healthier, crave less and live happier.
