| Why Dieting Is The Absolute WORST Thing You Can Do To Lose Weight |  |
We've all heard the rallying cry over the past decade:
"Diets don't work!"
The backlash against diets has been tremendous, and rightly
so. It's a well-known fact that 95-98% of those who lose
weight on a typical diet will gain that weight back (and
probably more!).
So obviously diets aren't working right?
Well, it depends on how you look at it and whom you ask.
There are still that 5% of dieters who apparently haven't
gained the weight back. (Wouldn't you actually like to meet
one of those people someday?)
So I wouldn't say diets don't work. Because, technically,
they do. In general, if you restrict your calories you will
lose weight.
If diets never allowed anyone to lose weight they would have
been passé long ago. Instead, the diet industry just keeps
chugging along, raking in billions of dollars a year, making
more and more outrageous promises.
Somebody's got to be getting results somewhere!
But perhaps the better question to ask yourself is this:
Does dieting work FOR YOU?
Does dieting work for you in the sense that it moves you
towards your goals (permanent weight loss, natural slimness,
and freedom from worry)?
I believe that for 95% of the population, the answer is a
definite 'NO!'
Diets may work in the sense that they can take off weight
under certain circumstances. But diets are far from the best
method to lose weight.
In fact, for most people trying to lose weight, diets are
the WORST thing they can possibly do!
Diets actually set people up to gain weight!
How? Well, diets are harmful by the very nature of what they
do to our physical bodies. (slowing the metabolism, making
the body extra efficient at fat storage, etc).
But maybe worse is what they do to our minds!
There are 2 ways in which diets mentally TRAIN us to gain
weight.
First of all, we all know that what we focus on, we are
drawn to. We are told that if we want to achieve any goal,
we should focus on that.
>> "Picture where you want to be."
>> "Visualize it."
>> "Think and grow rich."
>> "Imagine your success in vivid
detail."
>> "See yourself crossing the finish line."
Why do we do this? Because our minds are powerful and what
we think about, we are drawn to.
So what do diets make us focus on? The food!
We're constantly thinking,
>> 'Is that hot dog on my list?'
>> 'How many exchanges is that hamburger worth?
>> 'How many points is this banana bread?'
>> 'Is that salad dressing really low carb?'
Thinking about food over and over again then becomes a
mental habit.
And what's the result? We find ourselves eating more because
we're constantly thinking about food. It's not
that we don't have the willpower to stick to a diet. It's
that we're unknowingly training our minds to eat by dieting!
The second way diets set us up to gain weight is by
introducing a concept that humans are not good with:
restriction.
When you think of the traditional 'diet' do you lovingly
envision the carrot sticks or the cottage cheese that you're
allowed to eat?
Chances are that you started dreading the 'diet' food, while
longingly picturing the restricted goodies like pizza, or
chocolate cake, or potato chips, or butter tarts, or French
fries.
That's a classic example of what restriction does to us. Our
focus turns to what we can't have. And what you focus
on...(see above)
Here's another example of what restrictions do to us: If I
told you that you could write with any instrument except a
blue ballpoint pen, what would happen?
Chances are that you'd be fine for a while, writing with
pencil, black or red ballpoint pen, even markers or crayons.
But eventually what would you start to think about?
'Why can't I use a blue ballpoint pen?'
'What's so special about a blue ballpoint pen?'
'What does she know that I don't about blue ballpoint pens?'
'Look at all those people writing with a blue ballpoint pen.
They look so happy!'
'Who the heck does she think she is, telling me I can't
write with a blue ballpoint pen?'
'I'll show her!'
And you write a wonderfully long, insulting letter to me
with your blue ballpoint pen. (Ok maybe you wouldn't be that
bad but you get the point!)
That blue ballpoint pen has just taken on more value for
you.
It's the forbidden fruit that you'd much rather have over
any simple pencil.
And has anything really changed?
No! Writing with a blue ballpoint pen is just the same as
writing with a black ballpoint pen or a pencil.
But in your mind, it's better.
See why we value our chocolate and pizza and French fries so
much? Because, just like that blue ballpoint pen, we've been
told we can't have them.
So in going on a diet, we've psychologically moved ourselves
closer to food by focusing on it and restricting it.
Talk about setting yourself up for failure! Not only does
the weight pile back on with a vengeance, but you now have a
very well trained food-focused mind that values the highest
calorie (and least nutritionally helpful) food.
If you've been beating yourself up for failing to lose
weight with a diet, I would encourage you to forgive
yourself. Let it go. Just forget it. It's not the only way
to lose weight. It's not even a GREAT way to lose weight!
Make the decision to let diets go once and for all. For many
people their journey towards natural slimness and health
begins with the first step of giving up diets forever.
I would encourage you to do that today. Start training your
mind to focus on life and what's really important to
you - family, friends, goals and dreams. NOT food!
----------------------
Kathryn O'Neill is a certified Nutrition & Wellness
Specialist with a degree in Behavioral Psychology. She
teaches people how to lose weight naturally without
dieting
For more information visit her web site:
http://www.weightmasterycoach.com
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