Published on July 14, 2015
(c) V_Gri Fotosearch_k3363496
Diets, especially fad diets or “quick-fix” plans — the pills, the powders, the packaged plans . . . a.k.a. “The Pitfall Programs” — often set you up for failure because:
📌You feel deprived. Diets that cut out entire groups of food, such as carbs or fat, are simply impractical, not to mention unhealthy. The key is moderation. Eliminating entire food groups doesn’t allow for a healthy, well-rounded diet and creates nutritional imbalances.
📌You lose weight, but can’t keep it off. Diets that severely cut calories, restrict certain foods, or rely on ready-made meals might work in the short term. However, once you meet your weight loss goal, you don’t have a plan for maintaining your weight and the pounds quickly come back.
📌After your diet, you seem to put on weight more quickly. When you drastically restrict your food intake, your metabolism will temporarily slow down. Once you start eating normally, you’ll gain weight until your metabolism bounces back—another reason why “fasting” diets are counterproductive.
📌You break your diet and feel too discouraged to try again. Just because you gave in to temptation doesn’t mean all your hard work to that point goes down the drain. Healthy eating is about the big picture. An occasional splurge won’t kill your efforts. Diets that are too restrictive are conducive to cheating—when you feel deprived, it’s easy to fall off the wagon.
📌You lose money faster than you lose weight. Special shakes, meals, and programs may be cost-prohibitive and less practical for long-term weight loss and healthy weight maintenance.
📌You feel isolated and unable to enjoy social situations revolving around food. Without some practical, healthy diet strategies, you may feel lost when dining out or attending events like cocktail parties or weddings. If the food served isn’t on your specific diet plan, what can you do?
📌The person on the commercial lost 30 lbs. in 2 months—and you haven’t. Diet companies make a lot of grandiose promises. Most are simply not realistic. Unfortunately, losing weight is not easy, and anyone who makes it seem that way is doing you a disservice. Don’t get discouraged by setting unrealistic goals!
Getting slim takes work.
Maintaining slim takes work.
If you’re putting the work in to make good choices from each food group every day, using proper portion control so you don’t over- or under-eat, properly spacing your meals and healthy snacks throughout the day to keep blood sugar stable, and drinking water to keep properly hydrated, don’t allow yourself to be swayed by any pitfalls. Just stay the course.
You’re a work in progress, and you can’t progress without the work!
Slimcerely yours℠,
