“The grapefruit diet” “The fruit diet” “The pancake diet” “The tapeworm diet”… Wait, the tapeworm diet? Yes – it’s real, and yes, it’s as dangerous and disgusting as it sounds.
Chances are if you’re trying to go on one of these “lose weight fast” diets – it’s not going to work… But why?
There are a few things you need to keep in mind with all these things. Okay, so you might lose 10 pounds in a month – but, that’s because you’re not eating enough to sustain your poor body. Just because you’re losing weight doesn’t mean that you’re losing fat. If you’re on a diet that doesn’t give your body the proper nutrients that it needs you’ll be ending up burning muscle away instead of fat. The scale might say you’ve dropped a pound, but your body is going to tell you differently.
The other thing to remember is even if you get that fifteen or twenty pounds burnt away, it’s not going to stay away. All that weight that you lost is going to pop right back on as soon as you stop this “diet”. You’ll be right back to your old habits – a vicious circle.
You body needs a minimum amount of calories a day to keep itself from storing fat. If you deprive yourself of nutrients along with calories and other essential needs for long enough your body will say. “Hey, what’s going on here!” and then when you finally do start feeding it. It’ll gobble that stuff up like uncle Bob on Thanksgiving: which means instead of burning the calories it’ll store everything you eat as fat. Not to mention you’ll feel slow and sluggish because your body is storing all the bad fats instead of burning them off first.
Diets are not a real thing. You can label them whatever you want – pay a monthly fee for special ‘diet’ cakes and snacks and hey that’s great. Go ahead, eat that grapefruit and nothing else. Delight in drinking nothing but juice for an entire month. Wait, did I hear something about seaweed and snails? Yum!
You can’t go on a diet – what you need is a lifestyle change! If you want to lose weight and keep it off, it’s easier than you think. Doing it the proper way might be a longer road to happiness, but you’ll keep the weight off if you stick to it, and you’ll end up being happier… And no tapeworms! But don’t expect long term results.
Want to lose weight and keep it away?
Here are a few tips and tricks on how to lose weight and keep it off.
1) Before dedicating to losing weight. This has to be something you want. This can’t be because someone else told you to lose it, or because you think you might want to drop a dress size. If you’re losing weight for anyone but yourself… You won’t be able to do it. You need motivation, and you need desire. Let it fuel you, let it push you to lose the weight you want – not for vanity, but for health.
2) Don’t set a huge number goal! “50lbs by February” seems like maybe you could do it, but it’s so discouraging. Set a monthly goal, or a weekly goal – because then you’ll see the progress a lot faster and a lot more noticeably. Aspire to lose two to four pounds a week.
3) This is important!: Only weigh yourself once a week, at the same time every week (right when you wake up on Friday morning, for example). Why? Because your weight is going to go up and down. There is nothing you can do about that. Monday you might weigh 130lbs – and Thursday maybe it’s 132. It’s best not to panic yourself and weigh yourself every night. ONCE A WEEK!
4) Don’t panic if you gain a pound. Don’t freak out and eat a chocolate bar saying “Screw this!” you’ll feel horrible after you do it. And hey, it’s just a pound you can burn that off again.
5) Don’t starve yourself. If you’re hungry, eat. Don’t over do it. It’s not only about what you eat, it’s how much. If you’re really craving pizza – have some. Go down to the grocery store and buy a frozen pizza: they sell pizza’s that are 200 calories for a slice. 200 calories! A lifestyle change doesn’t mean you can’t eat those foods you love (that are horribly bad for you… Who else wishes ice cream was 0cal? I sure do) it just means you can’t eat them in excess, or every day. Be happy – or you’ll lose your motivation to keep at it.
6) It doesn’t hurt to drink a lot of water (avoid pop, there’s just nothing good for you there) and take vitamins everyday. Multivitamins help make up for anything you’ve missed out on, and they help to keep you energized and healthy though a long work day (or play day, hey adults like to play too!) or a rigorous work out. Don’t touch those energy drinks! Opt in for some vitamin water instead!
7) Above all? Eat healthy, exercise and be happy. Give yourself treats: and no, I don’t mean candy and cakes guys, I mean if you set that goal of three pounds a week. And for a month straight you do it? Reward yourself with a new shirt, or those shoes you’ve been wanting. Heck, even going to see that sappy romance movie you’ve wanted to see.
Sometimes it’s hard to change your habits and exercise. It’s hard for everyone, not just you! I highly suggest joining a community online: or, if there are support groups in your area. There are a few amazing websites out there that promote proper healthy diets and lifestyles. Some are designed just for this: they help you track weight loss, calorie intake (even help you set up a food plan and a shopping list, how awesome is that?), cups of water drank, exercise done and then some. They have community boards to talk to others doing the same thing as you and most of these places have a completely awesome section where people can submit recipes that are low calories and disturbingly delish.
All in all. Stay strong, make your lifestyle change, keep motivated and stay far away from any ‘diet’ that claims to help you lose weight fast.