Real Age Tip: Start Over!

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Registered: 03-19-2003
Real Age Tip: Start Over!
Sat, 12-31-2005 - 10:20am



Getting Started: A Sensible, Sustainable Approach


This New Year, it's going to be different! You will lose weight and keep it off; you just need a new approach to eating. A sensible, sustainable approach to weight loss can help improve the way you look and feel for the rest of your life.


So, forget about shortcuts, drastic fad diets, and deprivation. You want long-term results, right? Then just say no to short-term solutions.


Although some short-term weight loss solutions may seem tempting, try to resist. Ultimately, they could be unhealthier for you than if you had not lost weight -- and regained it -- at all. So-called yo-yo dieting can really make your RealAge older. Instead, focus on the kinds of changes that you can sustain over time . . . changes that will have a long-lasting, positive influence on your shape.


Still Not Convinced?
When you're desperate to lose weight, some of the least practical and least healthy solutions can really seem smart. But here's how they set you up for failure.


Calling All Sugar Substitutes
When you're counting calories, those sugar substitutes can really help keep your total low. But are they really helping you lose weight? It depends on how you approach them. For example, some early research suggests that they could encourage overeating. More importantly, however, artificially sweetened foods and beverages that are nutrition-poor can crowd out healthier food choices in your diet. Bottom line: Although they may not help you lose weight, research shows they can help people who have recently lost weight to sustain that weight loss. You can use sugar substitutes as a complement to your weight loss strategy, but they shouldn't be your whole game plan.


Super Low-Calorie Concerns
Hungry all the time? A super low-calorie diet may make the scales swing toward your goal weight, but most people eventually feel too deprived to sustain the effort. When that happens, all those hard-lost pounds creep back on, and sometimes some additional ones, too. What's more, a starvation diet can cause your body to stubbornly cling to its fat stores. Bottom line: Cutting calories is an important component of weight loss, but make sure your approach doesn't leave you feeling deprived or hungry all the time. Easier said than done? Future issues of this HealthGuide series will provide tips for cutting calories and feeling satisfied at the same time.


Super Low-Fat . . . Phooey!
Zero fat equals zero results. A little unsaturated fat in your diet can help you absorb valuable nutrients from your food, help provide feelings of fullness, and help improve your heart health all at the same time. Research shows that when people followed a reduced-calorie diet that included a moderate amount of unsaturated fat, they lost more weight than people who followed an extremely low-fat diet. Bottom line: Make sure your diet contains healthy, unsaturated fat, and very little saturated fat or trans fat.


Down with the Drastic
Any drastic change -- eliminating a food group, taking diet pills or laxatives, or exercising incessantly -- is likely to result in only short-term weight loss and potential long-term troubles. Research shows that making gradual changes over a long period of time is more likely to result in long-term success. Bottom line: Lose those extra pounds forever, not just for a few months. Focus on gradual changes that you can sustain.


The basics of weight loss are simple: eat the right foods in the right amounts and kick up your exercise quotient. With realistic goals like that, you can't go wrong.


You should choose healthier foods overall. If you make room for the right foods, you won't have as much room for ones that tend to pack on the pounds.


~IslandGirl



~Best Wishes for 2006~



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