| Eat and Lose Weight |  |
By Marvin Berenson, M.D.
Are you a dieter who quickly regains lost weight? If so, then a dietary
stabilization period is for you. A stabilization period is a periodic non-diet
period that occurs as part of a regular diet. Alternating one month of dieting and
one month of non-dieting is the preferred sequence.
Have you ever wondered why it is so difficult to lose that last ten pounds or
why you have to “eat like a bird” when you have arrived at your ideal
weight? On a continuous diet that lasts over a month, your Basal Metabolic Rate
(BMR) slowly decreases. In six months of continuous dieting you may have lost 25%
or more of your normal BMR. Weight loss and the burning of fat have
diminished. A daily reduction of five hundred calories may no longer cause any weight
loss.
Dieting without benefit leads to frustration and even a sense of
hopelessness. Such negative attitudes are frequently harbingers to regaining lost weight.
A monthly stabilization period prevents this.
When there is no decrease in your BMR, a diet with a daily reduction of 500
calories works well. Since it takes 3500 calories to lose (or gain) a single
pound of flesh, you will lose one pound per week or four to five pounds per
month (excluding any water loss). A diet with a 1000 calorie reduction will result
in a loss of eight to nine pounds a month. And you can expect the same
results on alternate months. The dietary control becomes easier and easier.
During the stabilization period you eat enough food to avoid further weight
gain or loss. You maintain the weight, whatever it is, reached at the end of
the diet month. You will find it easier to control weight when your monthly
weight loss is minor. During the stabilization period you will learn to adjust to
normal eating as you develop the habit of regular and effective weight
control. You can also use the non-diet periods to examine reasons why you overeat
and focus on creating a permanent, healthier diet and lifestyle.
By stabilizing your weight month by month you will establish an inner belief
in your ability to control your weight. You will have gained permanent weight
control.
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Marvin Berenson, M.D., psychiatrist, is the author of The Five Keys to
Permanent Weight Control and Think Yourself Smokeless. Email: marv1010@aol.com
Visit his website http://www.marvinberenson.com for a free 31-page e-book, Self
Growth and the Power of Mental Imagery, and a free newsletter
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