So, you've decided to diet and lose weight. OK!
But first be prepared to add a new four-letter word to the standard list of socially unacceptable ones! - the word is DIET, as in the verb "to DIET" (i.e. "to restrict" oneself, "to starve" oneself, to obsessively count fat grams and calories). Adding insult to injury, you often spend a substantial amount of effort and money in the process.
Here are the facts about the 10 Billion Dollar DIET Industry's dismal 2-5% dieting success rate.
Millions of people invest their money, time and energy on Weight Loss DIETS. Diets that don't work. Oh... pounds come off at first, but they generally come back on; and usually with extra company!
Let us share with you why diets don't work.
Quite simply, dieting is very stressful. The body adapts by resisting weight loss and quickly gaining it back at the first opportunity. Now, as you see, it is you (your mind with limited and short-lived experience) against a formidable machine (your body) that had millions of years to learn how to endure and stay alive.
Dieting causes a lot of disruption to the body and as a result it interprets this as "Starvation" - a very stressful condition.
The lack of food puts the body into "Economy Mode":
1) Metabolism slows down
2) The brain reduces production of essential neurotransmitters that dictate our moods
3) All available food is hoarded by the Body's Storage System ("Fat Storage Barn").
Dieting encourages the body to become more efficient at conserving food at all cost.
The person on the DIET, under stress, with a slowed metabolism, trying to force life style changes upon themselves, feels emotionally deprived and resorts to binging, which is simply a subconscious response to stress.
The dieter may even quit their diet altogether and revert to previous addictive eating, quickly regaining all lost weight and even adding additional weight.
The fundamental reason why 98 out of 100 dieters fail is because their diets ignore simple human psychology. In short, diets have built-in FAILURE MECHANISMS that ensure a discouraging LOW SUCCESS RATE for the dieter, but a HIGH SUCCESS RATE for the DIET Industry.
The number one of such built-in FAILURE MECHANISMS is Stress, that collapses your resolve to succeed.
The Chinese word for stress is written by combining the words danger and opportunity. Stress is just that; a friend or a foe, depending on how you react to it. People react to the same stress in different ways. It isn't the situation, but our reaction to it that may cause anxiety, frustration or other unwanted responses. On the other hand, stress well managed, can actually strengthen you for the next encounter.
One more thing, and caveat, you must know before you can reach "Nirvana" (Hindu for Heaven)!
"Overweight" people, especially obese people, not only have more cells in their bodies, but larger cells, compared to "fit" people and arrive at this difference after a long period of neglect.
When such "fat" person diets, the already large cells do not decrease in number, but only grow smaller - hungry, but still there! Your dieting body must slowly reduce the number of those cells, including getting rid of all the "plumbing" that was built around the once "fat" cells, to keep them healthy and growing (sweat glands, capillaries, etc.). This takes a long time, and until this new balance is achieved, you may lose patience, and any indulgence will immediately return those cells to a larger size and grow your body weight and dimension. The Fat Storage Barn is full again!
This phenomenon is known as the "yo-yo effect" and rather than being pleased with your apparently successful diet, it is important for you to have a long-term plan and strategy to let your body rid itself of the extra cellular tissue that is still there. Then you will be able to keep off the lost weight and keep your new desired dimensions.
In this battle of will power between you (your mind) and your body, we are fortunate to have on our side a strict cardinal rule of the body: "If you don't use it, you lose it", meaning if the extra cells are not refilled or utilized for what they were made, the body will notice, digest and eliminate them, including the extra plumbing around them. The result: your body will be really lean again, like in the past (rejuvenated?).
Now you can stop the fear of being overweight again. The Fat Storage Barn is gone!
Your body has no place to put the reserves, even if you indulge from time to time (but don't go overboard!).
A sedentary life style, especially during extended periods, is not healthy. While your body gets rid of the "Fat Storage Barn", by being active, this extra cellular material may be converted into beneficial muscle tissue.
You will end up more vigorous, with a better life expectancy.
IN SUMMARY:
Your success depends on keeping the following factors in check AT ALL TIMES: