The Best Way to Loose Weight

Throughout your life you have seen commercials, read articles, and listened to your friends talk about how they lost 10 pounds on the "XYZ" diet. Now I'm here to tell you that only fools go on diets.

Why Diets Don't Work
It doesn't matter which one you pick, they all worked for someone in the past and they might work for you too if you follow all of the restrictions to the letter. But if you fall off the wagon at any time, you'll gain it all back because your body has been in starvation mode for so long (the body will store anything it perceives as "excess calories" in this mode). This is particularly true with the Atkins/South Beach diet when you take in more carbohydrates than prescribed. I won't go into the biological science involved, but the body grabs on to those carb calories and holds it with an iron grip.

I Lost the Weight. Now What?
OK, let's say you made it to the finish line and lost all the weight you wanted. You followed the rules, restricted your intake, and abided by whatever other kooky rules they had you do to shed the weight. And from here you are owed a heartfelt Congratulation! Loosing weight is a difficult task for many, many Americans and you deserve a little treat, right? Let's go to TGI Fridays and have that cheesecake your friend told you so much about. Oops. Oh well, you look great anyway, it doesn't matter if you eat that. Hey, what are you doing this weekend? My friend is flying down from out of town and we are all going out and have a few drinks.

See a pattern?

How do I fix it permanently?
The problem with most diets is that they don't fix what caused you to gain weight in the first place: bad eating habits and sedentary lifestyle. Could you imagine what you would tell your mechanic if he said that he didn't replace your irreparably broken coolant hoses, just patched them up? So why do we accept repairs to our bodies that are temporary in nature? For weight loss to be long term you MUST address your eating habits and you MUST start exercising regularly. Diets like "Jenny Craig" and "Weight Watchers" have the best track record for long term weight loss because they teach you these 2 things.

It's too hard! No one can change their eating habits overnight!
Overnight changes are for fools. People that dive head first into things end up going back to their old ways after a while. What I recommend is to make small changes every week. For instance, if you put 3 sugars into your coffee, try 2 from now on. If you eat white bread, try "white-wheat" and then move on to wheat bread; and so on. As for exercise, start by walking around your block or taking the stairs instead of the escalator/elevator. The goal here is to make small changes to your routine that will set you on a new path to fitness and health.

And remember, there are no quick fixes when it comes to health; so do yourself a favor and get to work!