To most people, the word diet conjures up images deprivation, being denied their favorite foods and going hungry. It's no wonder that with so many negative tags attached to dieting that most people are not able to find success with a diet. Does this describe you? If so, do not worry because in this article I reveal the mistakes people make and how you can circumvent them to get the most out of your diet.
The first mistake that people make when dieting is to diet to the point of starvation. Most of us understand that in order to lose weight, we must create a calorie deficit. So, to lose a greater amount of weight, the calorie deficit should be more and hence the severity of the diet. Unfortunately, this is not exactly true and in most cases ends up backfiring. From an evolutionary standpoint, whenever our bodies are exposed to a drastic drop in calories this is interpreted as the onset of a famine and our bodies in their effort to survive go into 'starvation mode'. In this mode, our bodies will sacrifice muscle in order to retain fat which is rather ironic because our aim in the first place was to get rid of the fat. So, how does one get around this? Experts suggest not reducing your daily calorie intake by more than 500 calories. Any sustained calorie reduction beyond this is bound to trigger the starvation response mode by your body and is counterproductive to your goals.
The second mistake that people make when dieting is to try to be too strict with themselves. People tend to think that when on a diet, it is necessary to completely ban all foods that are deemed unhealthy, foods like pizza and other such foods which are normally on most peoples' favorite foods list. Unless you are the strongest willed person, such an approach will not work for you. Most people following this usually end up falling off the bandwagon because the idea of not being able to eat their favorite foods for the period of the diet (which can be for a few months) is simply too much to take. And a diet which is not followed is no diet at all. To get around this, dedicate one day per week where you are allowed to indulge in any food of your choice guilt free. Apart from keeping you mentally satisfied that you are not being deprived of your favorite food, it also gives a periodic boost to your metabolism and helps in burning more calories overall.
The third mistake that people tend to make is considering a diet as a short-term solution to weight loss. What this means is that a person would stay on a diet for as long as it is necessary to lose the required number of pounds and then go back to his or her original eating habits, put on weight again and the process would keep repeating itself. Dieting for the short-term would naturally tend to be stricter and harder to follow. Instead, if a person would consider healthy eating a lifestyle option rather than a short-term solution, he or she would find that there is a greater chance of achieving the set target weight and staying that way.
So, to make the most of your diet make sure you incorporate the following: maintain a maximum daily calorie deficit of 500, keep one day of the week as a cheat day and make eating healthy a lifestyle choice.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chris_R_Randolph
The first mistake that people make when dieting is to diet to the point of starvation. Most of us understand that in order to lose weight, we must create a calorie deficit. So, to lose a greater amount of weight, the calorie deficit should be more and hence the severity of the diet. Unfortunately, this is not exactly true and in most cases ends up backfiring. From an evolutionary standpoint, whenever our bodies are exposed to a drastic drop in calories this is interpreted as the onset of a famine and our bodies in their effort to survive go into 'starvation mode'. In this mode, our bodies will sacrifice muscle in order to retain fat which is rather ironic because our aim in the first place was to get rid of the fat. So, how does one get around this? Experts suggest not reducing your daily calorie intake by more than 500 calories. Any sustained calorie reduction beyond this is bound to trigger the starvation response mode by your body and is counterproductive to your goals.
The second mistake that people make when dieting is to try to be too strict with themselves. People tend to think that when on a diet, it is necessary to completely ban all foods that are deemed unhealthy, foods like pizza and other such foods which are normally on most peoples' favorite foods list. Unless you are the strongest willed person, such an approach will not work for you. Most people following this usually end up falling off the bandwagon because the idea of not being able to eat their favorite foods for the period of the diet (which can be for a few months) is simply too much to take. And a diet which is not followed is no diet at all. To get around this, dedicate one day per week where you are allowed to indulge in any food of your choice guilt free. Apart from keeping you mentally satisfied that you are not being deprived of your favorite food, it also gives a periodic boost to your metabolism and helps in burning more calories overall.
The third mistake that people tend to make is considering a diet as a short-term solution to weight loss. What this means is that a person would stay on a diet for as long as it is necessary to lose the required number of pounds and then go back to his or her original eating habits, put on weight again and the process would keep repeating itself. Dieting for the short-term would naturally tend to be stricter and harder to follow. Instead, if a person would consider healthy eating a lifestyle option rather than a short-term solution, he or she would find that there is a greater chance of achieving the set target weight and staying that way.
So, to make the most of your diet make sure you incorporate the following: maintain a maximum daily calorie deficit of 500, keep one day of the week as a cheat day and make eating healthy a lifestyle choice.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chris_R_Randolph
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