I was going to title this: How to Lose Weight in a Safe and
Healthy Way, but I decided not to. My reasoning was that
most of the people I have met who wanted to lose weight,
were paying very little attention to, or were not aware of,
the ultimate effects on health that most supposed weight
loss solutions will have. As with so many things in our
modern society, most of us are focused on attaining some
immediate, simple, or relatively painless solution to our
problem.
It is this attitude that keeps an entire industry of weight
loss supplements, diet pills, and producers of fad diets
afloat. One sad aspect of this is that most of these
weight loss solutions either have a minimal effect on the
problem for most people, or have no effect at all. Since
most people seeking to lose weight are driven by hope,
rather than knowledge, as they try one product or diet
after another, not only do they fail to lose weight, but
they begin to lose hope as well.
Sadder still is the fact that, in many instances, not only
do the pills and promises fail to deliver, but may actually
affect health in a negative way! When you consider that
one major reason to lose weight is to acquire better
health, to find yourself going in the opposite direction
can be devastating. Yet, as hope springs eternal, the
individual continues to place trust, and money, in the next
fad diet, the next diet pill, the next weight loss
supplement.
Perhaps saddest of all is the fact that healthy, permanent
weight loss is simple to attain, and there is often no need
to invest any money at all!
Another sad fact is that while permanent, healthy weight
loss is simple to attain (I did not say "easy" or
"immediate") many people will fail under any weight loss
plan simply because of a combination of unrealistic
expectations and lack of knowledge of how their body works.
Unrealistic expectations and lack of knowledge are the two
main reasons that people turn to diet pills, fad diets,
weight loss supplements and other purveyors of false hope.
The basic weight loss equation is:
More calories in than used = Weight gain
More calories used than taken in = weight loss
Most diet pills, and other weight loss supplements "work"
by causing either more calories to be burned, or by causing
fewer calories to be taken in. In other words, they either
"rev up" the metabolism, at least temporarily, or they
suppress the appetite. Some act to interfere with body's
ability to absorb fats.
Most diets, fad or otherwise, act on the assumption that
merely decreasing the calories you eat will cause you to
lose weight. Some add the idea that certain foods will
contribute to the weight loss process by filling you up,
providing fewer calories than other foods, or by
stimulating your basic metabolic rate in order to burn more
calories.
Almost all of these diets and products will commonly
include a remark or warning that the product or plan will
work best, or only work at all, when combined with regular
exercise and sensible eating habits.
Now, there are many reasons why diets don't work, and that
discussion is too long to go into here. I have written
several articles on this subject, and they can be found on
many sites around the Internet, including my own. One
major fact to remember about diets is that once you cut
your calories to a low enough level to produce a weight
loss, your body is going to reduce its basic metabolism so
that you will simply establish a new point at which your
weight will be maintained. This normally occurs after only
a few pounds are lost, so, in order to lose more weight,
you have to cut your calorie intake farther.
When the time comes that you "fall off the wagon" and go
back to eating the way you did before the diet, your body
needs fewer calories to function, so even more calories get
stored as fat.
Diet pills (generally appetite suppressants) and other
weight loss supplements, which all work by altering the
normal functions of the digestive system, merely relieve
you of taking responsibility for eating properly, may cause
health issues, and will usually stop being effective the
moment you quit taking them.
Neither method, diet pill or diet, improves health, or
teaches and encourages a healthy lifestyle in which weight
loss and weight management is a normal byproduct. Even
when, as instructed, they are used in conjunction with
regular exercise and sensible eating and living habits,
they only contribute a small portion to overall weight
loss. The actual weight loss process is carried by the
exercise and sensible eating, while the pills and potions
just help.
Additionally, whether a diet pill which obstructs or alters
the normal function of the body, or a diet which curtails
the ingestion of the broad range of nutrients necessary for
a healthy body and mind, interfering with the normal
nutritional needs of a healthy body is, almost by
definition...unhealthy.
Since the purpose of weight loss should at least partly be
to be healthy, incorporating some moderate, regular
exercise into one's life while taking the initiative to eat
more sensibly, the two steps that are the most effective
weight loss tips around, should be the basis for any weight
loss program. In fact, regular exercise and sensible
nutritional decisions will completely negate the need for
weight loss supplements, diet pills, or fad diets. The
person who opts for a lifestyle in which these two issues
are given importance...and are acted upon...will find that
they have discovered the real secret of how to lose weight.
----------------------------------------------------
Donovan Baldwin is a freelance writer currently living in
central Texas. He is a University of West Florida alumnus,
a member of Mensa, and is retired from the U. S. Army after
21 years of service. He has published many of his articles
on diet and weightloss at
http://nodiet4me.com/articledirectory .
