Normally, 95 per cent of dieters end in failure and regain their lost fat quickly. They follow a diet for short term and then go “off” a diet. Being “off” a diet often means overeating. This is occurring at a time the body is at the height of “panic” mode and is storing all it can. Thus, weight gain following a diet is fast and furious, even more so than prior to dieting at all! This weight gain is often what precipitates another attempt at dieting, and the cycle begins again.
The first key reason why diets don’t work is that biologically, diets slow down weight loss. Each successive attempt at dieting results in a slower rate of weight loss. This is because our body experiences dieting as a stressor. When we’re stressed, we produce high-levels of cortisol and adrenaline (stress hormones). These hormones cause our body to slow down the rate at which we burn calories.
The second key reason why diets don’t work is that diets lower your metabolism. When you repeatedly lose and gain weight, your body will learn to adjust to become more efficient. That means the body will slow its metabolism.
The third key reason why diets don’t work is that — Diets don’t create sustainable change. Diets are not practical. All diets have an element of deprivation, and there’s often a “no-no list” of foods that we must avoid if we want to be successful. Restrictive diets require us to have “willpower” and an ability to stick to the rules. But the problem with this constraining, tough-it-out attitude, is that it’s no fun! There’s no pleasure, and there’s no joy involved in becoming healthier!
THE SECRET TO PERMANENT FAT LOSS
Dropping body fat per cent successfully is an integrative process that requires extensive consideration of a number of tactical factors including sleeping patterns, lifestyle, previous behaviour patterns, cravings, digestion, work schedule, goals, motivations, mindset, nutrition, exercise and recovery.
Lifestyle change is the only solid solution to permanent fat loss. Lifestyle change involves altering long-term habits such as food habits, exercise habits, sleep habits and over all lifestyle habits, and maintaining the new behaviour for years.
To reach an appropriate level of body fat, you need to encompass principles of nutrition, exercise program and behaviour modification to promote lifestyle change. It is a lifestyle modification that can help you reach appropriate levels of body fat and lean mass.
While most people want to focus on weight loss, I suggest you to focus more on behaviour change. After all, you have more control over your behaviour than your weight. Simply adhering to healthy habits each day is your goal. Your everyday behaviour is the means by which weight loss goal will be accomplished. Behavioural change is essential for lifelong weight management.
The first and the most important strategy to effective fat loss is to change your mind-set of temporary weight loss to permanent fat loss. Think about all the times you’ve heard people around you saying they were “going on a diet to lose weight”. The phrase “going on a diet” implies a temporary solution at which point they will have to “go off the diet”. This will not work.
Only lifestyle change works — a change which leads to a new you — new habits. A permanent one.
