The Big Picture of Permanent Weight Loss

However, I am taking a step back from science to look at the big picture and refocus on people. May need to be applied.

To most people reading this article, finding an effective diet that works most of the time must seem as complicated as nuclear physics. No, but there are a bewildering number of diets: high-fat or fat-free? High carbs or no carbs? Low protein or high protein? Worse, there are millions of variations and combinations of the above diet scenarios, adding to the confusion. It seems endless, and many throw up their hands in frustration and give up. This article attempts to change all that.

Diet programs have some general guidelines, rules of thumb, and perspectives to help you decide if it's the right diet for you. You may not always like what I have to say, and have no illusions ... But if you are tired of being confused, tired of losing weight just to put it back on If you are, and are tired of wondering how to take the first steps in finding the right diet for you that will lead to permanent weight loss, this is your next step. An article that could change your life...

Does your diet pass the' test'? What are the main reasons why the

diet fails in the long term? More than anything? The number one reason.

Drumroll ... Lack of long-term compliance. Numbers don't lie. The majority of people who lose weight put it back on. You already knew that, right?

But what do you do to avoid it? Effectively, the basic idea of "burning" more calories than you expend, or the universally accepted" calories for calories. " Diets chosen according to the mantra of "consume with" cause weight loss. Atkins-style no-carb diets, low-fat high-carb diets, and all sorts of fad diets all work to some degree, but they're fine in the short term.

If your goal is to lose weight quickly, pick one and do it. I promise you that I will lose some weight. Studies have shown that any of the over-the-counter weight loss diets, from 6 months to he, lose about the same amount of weight after a year. For example, a recent study found that the Atkins Diet, the Slim Fast Plan, the Weight Watchers Pure Points Program, and Rosemary Conley's Eat Your Slim Diet are all equally effective. (1)

Other studies comparing other common diets have reached essentially the same conclusions. For example, a study comparing the Atkins Diet, the Cornish Diet, Weight Watchers, and the Zone Diet found essentially equivalent abilities to lose weight after one year. (2)

Remember when I said the number one reason diets fail is lack of compliance?

The principal investigator of this recent study said: I had the ability to actually stick to a diet that predicted weight loss success. You can see the hands go up. Are some diets better than others? Absolutely. Some foods are healthier than others, some are better at maintaining lean body mass, and some are better at suppressing appetite. There are many differences in diets. Most of the popular weight loss diets work, but it's clear that sticking to the diet is the most important way to maintain your weight in the long term.

What is a diet? The

diet is a short-term weight loss strategy. Long-term weight loss is the result of lifestyle changes. We're talking about lifelong weight management, not rapid weight loss. I don't like the word diet. Lifestyle changes. Do you want to lose a lot of weight quickly? Damn, now I'm going to give you the information here for free.

Eat 12 scrambled eggs, 1 grapefruit and 1 gallon of water twice daily for the next 90 to 120 days. You will lose a lot of weight. Will I be healthy? No, if I am forced to quit this diet and go back to a "normal" diet, will I lose weight? No chance. Is the weight you lose from fat, or from muscle, water, bone and (hopefully!) fat? The bottom line is that there are many diets that are perfect for weight loss, but when considering a meal plan aimed at losing weight, you should ask yourself:

Is this how I like to eat?

This leads me to my test: I call it the" Can I eat like this for the rest of my life? " Test.

Teach a man to fish ...

A well-known Chinese proverb says," Give a man a fish, and he will eat it in a day. " If you teach people how to fish, they will feed you for the rest of their lives.

This phrase fits perfectly into the next important step in deciding what diet plan to follow in order to lose weight permanently. Does the diet plan you have in mind tell or inform you how to eat in the long run? Does your diet rely on the special bars, shakes, supplements, or prepackaged foods they offer? For example, lose 30 pounds in 2 months. Diet B helps you understand what foods you should eat, how many calories you should eat, and why you should eat them. Helping you make informed choices about your diet. Diet B causes slow and steady weight loss of 8-10 pounds per month for the next 6 months.

Remember the Chinese proverb. Both diets help you lose weight. But dieting is the only thing that will teach you how to become independent after the experience is over.

Of course, diet A is easier and quicker to lose weight than diet B, but diet B takes longer and requires you to think and learn on your own. However, once Diet A ends, it reverts to its original state and no fishing skill is gained. Diet companies don't make money by teaching you how to fish, they make money by giving you fish.

So what's great about Diet B is that it succeeds where other diets have failed and provides insights that can be applied over the long term. Diet programs that attempt to go on a diet without trying to teach you how to eat without their help, and/or that rely on shakes, bars, cookies, or prepackaged foods, will Here's another diet that will blow up your list of choices that can be crossed out.

Diet plans that offer weight loss by drinking their product for several meals followed by a "sensible dinner;" diets that allow you to eat their special cookies for most meals along with their pre-planned menu; or diets that attempt to have you eat their bars, drink, or pre-made meals, are of the diet The variety covered above. They're easy to follow but destined for failure, long term. They all fail the" Can I eat that way for the rest of my life? Test, unless you really think you can eat cookies and shakes for the rest of your life ... The bottom line here is, if the nutritional approach you use to lose weight, be it from a book, a class, a clinic, or an e-book, does not teach you how to eat, it's a loser for the long-term weight loss, and it should be avoided.

The missing link for long-term weight loss

We are now making our way to another test to help you choose a nutrition program for long-term weight loss, and it does not actually involve nutrition. The missing link for long-term weight loss is exercise. Exercise is an integral part of long-term weight loss. Many diet programs do not include an exercise component.

A program that focuses on weight loss but doesn't include a comprehensive training plan is like buying a car without tires or an airplane without wings. The overwhelming majority of people successfully maintain their weight. Studies looking at people who incorporate exercise into their lives and have successfully lost, and maintained, weight have consistently found that these people benefit from dieting and training. Schedules match. (4)

It is not possible to list all the benefits of regular exercise here, but regular exercise has a positive effect on your metabolism, allowing you to burn more calories while you are in a calorie deficit, Receive Essentials for Health and Metabolism (IBM) that helps increase lean body mass. The many health benefits of regular exercise are well known, so I won't add them here. The bottom line is that regular exercise should be an integral part of your weight loss strategy if you plan to keep it on track. Therefore, you can eliminate books, e-books, clinics, and other programs that do not provide guidance or assistance with this important part of long-term weight loss. It's better than nothing. However, as with any diet plan, not all exercise is created equal, and many people often choose the wrong form of exercise to maximize their weight loss efforts, doing only aerobics and ignoring strength training. Resistance training is an essential part of fat loss because it builds muscle, which is vital for your metabolism, increases your energy expenditure around the clock, and has health benefits beyond cardio.

Readers will also note that I mentioned fat loss, not weight loss. Although I use the term "weight loss" in this article, I am only using it because it is a familiar term that most people understand. The true focus and goal should be fat loss, not weight loss. It is the wrong approach to focus on weight loss that can lead to loss of vital muscle, water, and even bone and fat.

Losing fat and maintaining all-important lean body mass (IBM) are goals and ways to achieve this. See my e-book on this subject. It is beyond the scope of this article. CONCLUSIONS: Exercise type, exercise intensity, and exercise duration are important variables when trying to lose weight while preserving fat (IBM).

The Psychology of Long-Term Weight Loss 101

Many diet programs do not address the psychological aspects of why people fail to lose weight over the long term. However, there are some studies that have looked at this exactly. In many ways, the psychological dimension is the most important and perhaps the most underestimated component to long-term weight loss.

Studies that compare the psychological characteristics of people who have successfully kept the weight off to people who have regained the weight, see clear differences between these two groups. For example, one study that looked at 28 obese women who had lost weight but regained the weight that they had lost, compared to 28 formerly obese women who had lost weight and maintained their weight for at least one year and 20 women with a stable weight in the healthy range, found the women who regained the weight:

of Had a tendency to evaluate self-worth in terms of weight and shape.

Of Had a lack of vigilance with regard to weight control

o had a dichotomous (black-and-white) thinking style.

O Had the tendency to use eating to regulate mood.

The researchers concluded:

"The results suggest that psychological factors may provide some explanation as to why many people with obesity regain weight following successful weight loss. "

This particular study was done on women, so it reflects some of the specific psychological issues women have-but make no mistake here. - Men also have their own psychological issues that can sabotage their long-term weight loss efforts. (6)

Additional studies on men and women find psychological characteristics such as "having unrealistic weight goals, poor coping or problem-solving skills and low self-efficacy" often predict failure with long-term weight loss. (7) On the other hand, psychological traits common to people who experienced successful long-term weight loss include "...an internal motivation to lose weight, social support, better coping strategies and ability to handle life stress, self-efficacy, autonomy, assuming responsibility in life, and overall more psychological strength and stability

(8)

The main point of this section is to explain that psychology plays an important role in determining whether people are successful in losing weight over the long term. However, this is not an area most nutrition programs can adequately address and should not be expected. If you've provided a list of groups above who are struggling to maintain their weight in the long term, you know that these issues need to be addressed through things like counseling and support groups. Rather than expecting a weight loss program to adequately cover this topic, look for a program that attempts to provide support, goal setting, and resources to get you on track.

Why don't we see this kind of candid information about the realities of long-term weight loss more often? Not the best way to tell. Oh my God, miraculously, everyone who read this article actually followed it and forwarded it to millions of other people who actually followed it. If so, the makers of these products could quickly find themselves in financial trouble. But they also know that, as the man put it, "a sucker is born every minute," so I or I don't think they will worry at night about the impact this article will have on their business.

So let's recap what has been learned here: the big picture realities of permanent weight loss and how you can look at a weight loss program and decide for yourself if it's for you based on what has been covered above:

a Permanent weight loss is not about finding a quick fix diet, but making a commitment to lifestyle changes that include nutrition and exercise

of Any weight loss program you choose must pass the" Can I eat that way for the rest of my life? " Test,

of The weight loss program you choose should ultimately teach you how to eat and be self-reliant, so you can make informed long-term choices about your diet.

O The weight loss program you choose should not leave you reliant on commercial bars, shakes, supplements, or pre-made foods for your long-term success.

O The weight loss program you choose must have an effective exercise component.

O The weight loss program you choose should attempt to help with motivation, goal setting, and support, but can't be a replacement for psychological counseling if needed.

Conclusion

I want to take this final section to add some additional points and clarity. First, the above advice is not for everyone.

It is not intended for people who truly choose their own diet, such as: B. Competitive bodybuilders and other athletes who benefit from fairly drastic dietary changes.

Also, this article is not intended for individuals with medical conditions who may be on a specific diet to treat or manage their specific medical condition. This article is for the average person who wants to get off the yo-yo diet carousel completely, which is probably 99% of the population, so you're going to cover millions.

People shouldn't be put off by my "this is how you should eat forever" advice. That doesn't mean you can spend the rest of your life dieting and just looking forward to being hungry. But what that means is that you still have to learn to eat properly after reaching your target weight, and this type of diet deviates significantly from how you first ate to lose weight. No. Once you reach your target weight and/or target body fat percentage, you enter the maintenance phase. This usually involves more calories and a wider variety of foods, and the occasional feast such as a slice of pizza. It is a logical extension of, but not based on, the diet that initially gained weight.

Whichever program you choose, use the "big picture" approach above. This allows you to continue your long-term weight loss. See you at the gym!

References

(1) Truly H, et al. A randomized controlled trial of four commercial weight loss programs in the UK: initial results of the BBC' diet trial' BMJ 2006;332:1309-1314 (3 June),

(2) Michael D., et al., Atkins, Cornish, Weight Watchers, The Zone Diet for Weight Loss and Heart Disease Risk Reduction. Randomized study. Jam. 2005;293:43-53

(3) Comparing Diets for Weight Loss and Reducing Heart Disease Risk-Answers. Michael Dansinger. Jam. 2005;293:1590-1591.

(4) Kruger J and others. Dietary and exercise behaviors of successful weight-loss adults. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity 2006, 3:17 DOI:10.1186/1479-5868-3 - 17

(5) Byrne S, et al. Weight maintenance and relapse in obesity: a qualitative study. Int J One's Relay Metal Discord. 2003 Aug;27(8):955-62.

(6) Borg P et al. Food choices and eating behavior during weight maintenance interventions, and a 2-year follow-up study of obese men. Int J One's Relay Me tab Discord

2004 Dec;28(12):1548-54.

(7) Burn SM. Psychological aspects of weight maintenance and relapse in obesity. Psychosomatic Res. 2002 Nov;53(5):1029-36.

(8) Elf hag K, et al. Who Can Maintain Their Weight? A conceptual review of factors associated with maintaining weight loss and weight gain. Ones Rev. 2005 Feb;6(1):67-85

Author Bio

Will Brink is a recognized author, columnist and expert in the nutritional supplement, fitness, bodybuilding and weight loss industries. I graduated from Harvard University with a major in science.

His often groundbreaking articles have appeared in publications such as Let's Live, Muscle Media, Muscle Mag International, The Life Extension Magazine, Muscle n Fitness and Exercise For Men Only.

He has co-authored several studies on sports nutrition and health, published in peer-reviewed journals, and published his commentary in JAVA. He used to coach high level Olympians, bodybuilders, fitness and now conducts seminars for (SWAT).

Not only that, but he is the author of Bodybuilding Revealed, which teaches you how to gain solid muscle mass without drugs, and Fat Loss Revealed, which shows you exactly how to get lean, muscular and healthy the natural way.