By
Donovan Baldwin
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Donovan_Baldwin
You know, I really don't want to be a killjoy or a smart alec, but there are a couple of simple facts about weight loss:
1. It took years to put on, and it won't come off fast.
2. Rapid weight loss is at best potentially unhealthy and at worst downright dangerous.
Okay, now that we've gotten the negative stuff out of the way, let's look at some real weight loss solutions.
First of all, forget drugs, pills, diets, magic potions, and witches with apples! Oh yeah, that last one was from Snow White. Those things don't really work for weight loss, rapid or otherwise, and I am going to assume that you want to lose weight because you want a longer, healthier, better life for yourself. You may look in the mirror and say, "I want to lose weight now", but you really want to become a person who is going to enjoy life, have fun living, live long and prosper, and be happy to look in the mirror again.
Certain things make us gain weight, and certain things make us lose weight. We can lose or gain a bit faster or slower depending on the choices we make on a daily basis, but the basics which control our weight remain pretty constant.
First of all, if you eat more calories than your body can use, you gain weight. If you use more calories than you eat, you lose weight.
Second, if you go on a diet, that diet is probably not going to work because, to put it simply, diets don't work. Even if the diet works, and I'd rather bet on horse races, you aren't going to stay on it, and you know it.
Third, diets, pills, supplements and so on, if they work at all, will only work as long as you continue to use them. They make no positive changes to your body, and cause you to lose weight by creating some condition in your body which is unnatural, unhealthy, or both.
Fourth, if you deprive your body of a certain level of food intake, either through a diet or through a pill which interferes with the normal function of the body, not only will you fail to get the nutrients you need but your body has a mechanism which teaches it to get by on less food when you do this to it. When you go back to eating as before, and you will, you not only gain back the weight you lose but gain more because your body has learned to function on fewer calories.
Fifth, even if you lose weight with a diet pill or other artificial weight loss product, the only health benefit you derive is from the weight that is lost. That is often offset by negative results within the body from the product or process used.
HOWEVER!
If you are willing to change the statement from, "I want to lose weight now", to "I want to lose weight permanently in a healthy manner, there are two major things you need to do.
1. You need to become more active. Now, most people assume that means "exercise". While that is a great idea, I will settle for taking up some activity which you enjoy which has a physical aspect to it. Gardening is great, for example. Bike riding and swimming are fun activities for some which are really just exercise in disguise, but you didn't get that from me. Personally, I actually enjoy my dumbbell workouts, but that isn't most people's cup of tea.
2. You will need to become proactive about eating. Notice that I DID NOT say, "diet". What you need to do is think before you eat. There is no reason why you cannot lose weight and still eat apple pie or ice cream. You just need to be a grown up and not eat it every day and watch the portion sizes when you do have it.
You know, I used to buy pints of ice cream and eat the whole thing in one sitting. One night, I looked at the label and discovered that a pint was four servings and I was actually eating over 500 calories in one sitting! Since then, I have learned to actually get five servings out of a pint, and I have ice cream regularly.
However, since I know I am going to have ice cream regularly, and other treats and foods I enjoy, I have little problem skipping seconds, high fat foods, and other things which are not really good for me.
I am 64 years old, in great health and physical condition, enjoy life fully, eat pretty much what I like and exercise about one and one-half hours a week. You won't hear me say, "I want to lose weight now", because I don't need to.
1. It took years to put on, and it won't come off fast.
2. Rapid weight loss is at best potentially unhealthy and at worst downright dangerous.
Okay, now that we've gotten the negative stuff out of the way, let's look at some real weight loss solutions.
First of all, forget drugs, pills, diets, magic potions, and witches with apples! Oh yeah, that last one was from Snow White. Those things don't really work for weight loss, rapid or otherwise, and I am going to assume that you want to lose weight because you want a longer, healthier, better life for yourself. You may look in the mirror and say, "I want to lose weight now", but you really want to become a person who is going to enjoy life, have fun living, live long and prosper, and be happy to look in the mirror again.
Certain things make us gain weight, and certain things make us lose weight. We can lose or gain a bit faster or slower depending on the choices we make on a daily basis, but the basics which control our weight remain pretty constant.
First of all, if you eat more calories than your body can use, you gain weight. If you use more calories than you eat, you lose weight.
Second, if you go on a diet, that diet is probably not going to work because, to put it simply, diets don't work. Even if the diet works, and I'd rather bet on horse races, you aren't going to stay on it, and you know it.
Third, diets, pills, supplements and so on, if they work at all, will only work as long as you continue to use them. They make no positive changes to your body, and cause you to lose weight by creating some condition in your body which is unnatural, unhealthy, or both.
Fourth, if you deprive your body of a certain level of food intake, either through a diet or through a pill which interferes with the normal function of the body, not only will you fail to get the nutrients you need but your body has a mechanism which teaches it to get by on less food when you do this to it. When you go back to eating as before, and you will, you not only gain back the weight you lose but gain more because your body has learned to function on fewer calories.
Fifth, even if you lose weight with a diet pill or other artificial weight loss product, the only health benefit you derive is from the weight that is lost. That is often offset by negative results within the body from the product or process used.
HOWEVER!
If you are willing to change the statement from, "I want to lose weight now", to "I want to lose weight permanently in a healthy manner, there are two major things you need to do.
1. You need to become more active. Now, most people assume that means "exercise". While that is a great idea, I will settle for taking up some activity which you enjoy which has a physical aspect to it. Gardening is great, for example. Bike riding and swimming are fun activities for some which are really just exercise in disguise, but you didn't get that from me. Personally, I actually enjoy my dumbbell workouts, but that isn't most people's cup of tea.
2. You will need to become proactive about eating. Notice that I DID NOT say, "diet". What you need to do is think before you eat. There is no reason why you cannot lose weight and still eat apple pie or ice cream. You just need to be a grown up and not eat it every day and watch the portion sizes when you do have it.
You know, I used to buy pints of ice cream and eat the whole thing in one sitting. One night, I looked at the label and discovered that a pint was four servings and I was actually eating over 500 calories in one sitting! Since then, I have learned to actually get five servings out of a pint, and I have ice cream regularly.
However, since I know I am going to have ice cream regularly, and other treats and foods I enjoy, I have little problem skipping seconds, high fat foods, and other things which are not really good for me.
I am 64 years old, in great health and physical condition, enjoy life fully, eat pretty much what I like and exercise about one and one-half hours a week. You won't hear me say, "I want to lose weight now", because I don't need to.
Donovan Baldwin is a freelance SEO copywriter currently living in
Central Texas but moving to Stone Mountain, Georgia soon. A University
Of West Florida alumnus (1973) with a BA in accounting, he is a member
of Mensa and has held several managerial positions. After retiring from
the U. S. Army in 1995, he became interested in internet marketing and
developed various online businesses. He has been writing poetry,
articles, and essays for over 40 years, and now frequently writes and
publishes articles on his own websites and for use by other webmasters.
His website on diet and weight loss can be found at http://nodiet4me.com.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Donovan_Baldwin
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