How to Keep Slim

It is the sad truth that people become desperate and impatient to take off weight and in the process use methods that trigger health problems brought on by the distorted chemistry of the diet. A diet lacking in vital nutrients also can cause flesh folds, skin dryness, brittle hair and fingernails and a loss of energy and vitality.

The "all-protein" diet is a good example. In addition to lacking the nutrients provided by carbohydrates and fat, the diet is dangerously high in cholesterol and triglycerides (blood fats). Many overweight people already have high cholesterol and triglyceride levels and a diet concentrated on proteins can endanger life.

A further complication can occur from a lack of vital mineral - potassium. This mineral is found in many fruits and vegetables and helps sustain life. To subject oneself to such obvious dangers in an attempt to get the scale down quickly is ridiculous. If losing one's health is not bad enough, consider the haggard and drawn appearance that accompanies a bad diet. Changes in disposition usually become evident because the subject begins to feel tired, shaky and depressed.

The "high fat" ketogenic diet is an old idea and invites just as many disasters. Even more common bad effects of fad diets are the despondence and disturbing mental depressions that inevitably occur when the weight lost is quickly regained when the diet is stopped.

And the weight will return when unnatural diets are used, because they cannot be sustained and old eating habits are resumed. With the return of weight comes depression and a desperate feeling that "nothing works."

The futility of fad dieting is becoming more and more apparent. The new trend is greater nutrition, newer knowledge and greater health through improved eating habits. Losing weight gradually, rather than rapidly, has two important benefits:

1. It is healthier and.

2. It offers time for the dieter to correct bad eating habits, the only way of achieving a permanent loss. For a permanent weight loss, it is essential that habits be changed. A fast weight loss diet does not allow for the overweight to adapt to new eating patterns and the weight inevitably returns. The changing of habits is not easy, nor can it be accomplished quickly, but it can be done and must be done if a weight loss is to be sustained. Motivation must be strong and the desire great. The following list of changes in your eating habits and patterns should prove helpful: 1. Sit down and relax a few minutes before eating. 2. Lay your fork down between each mouthful.

3. Keep in mind that a normal portion of fruits and vegetables is '2 cup. If you are served more, learn to leave excesses on your plate.

4. Get rid of guilt feelings about leaving food on your plate. It is far better for it to be thrown out than for it to be accumulated in your body.

5. Reduce the size of your habitual portions of everything you eat.

6. Never serve foods "family style."

7. Dispose of any leftover foods immediately, and remember you are not the garbage disposal.

8. Learn to recognize the feelings of sufficiency. Leave the table feeling you could eat more. Watch what other people do when eating. Begin to associate gluttony with revulsion and normal quantities with delight.

10. Drink water, black coffee, tea or sugar-free diet pop before, during or after meals. These fill the stomach and dilute digestive tract juices.

11. Never shop in a grocery store when you are hungry. Schedule your trip after a meal.

12. Always shop from a prepared list and avoid "impulse buying" of food. Restraint keeps your wallet fatter and you thinner.