That’s right, diets alone don’t work. I'm sure you've heard that to lose weight, all you need to do is "eat less and exercise more". Easier said than done. This simplistic approach is a set up for frustration and failure. It ignores the psychological forces necessary to lose and keep the weight off (such as motivation, focus, and commitment). Also ignored are any secondary gains (payoffs/reinforcements) a person may have to keep a poor diet. Examples include food serving as relaxation when stressed, a relationship substitute when lonely, or as stimulation when bored. Have you ever caught yourself using food for any of these reasons? Me too. These factors have upended many a diet. The more powerful the secondary reasons to keep eating poorly, the more the poor eating will continue. Ignoring your mind’s role in weight loss makes the entire process so much more difficult.
Most formal “fad” diets don’t work either. Besides ignoring these same psychological factors, these diets usually promote such a different way of eating that it can be nearly impossible to maintain them. Also problematic are diet pills, powders, and other supplements that attempt to artificially suppress the appetite. I don’t recommend that you buy them. Besides the high, endless costs of buying these special products or foods, your old ways of eating will return as soon as you stop buying the products. Are you really supposed to buy these supplements for the rest of your life? I’m sure these companies would be happy with that. No way. As soon as you stop buying them, your appetite will come back, your old ways of eating come back, and so will the weight.
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Terry Martin www.about.com