Dieting
Dieting has almost become a past-time in America. Think about it, I bet you know at least one person who is on a diet right now. In fact, you could probably always find at least one of your friends who is on a diet. Why is dieting so common? Because most people will go on a temporary diet, lose a few pounds, then resume their old eating and exercise habits, causing the weight to come right back.
So what can you do to prevent yourself from becoming one of the perpetual dieters? You will have to change your lifestyle. If you are serious about keeping the weight off and getting in better physical shape, you can’t think of it a temporary diet. While it may be daunting to think about changing everything in your life all at once, you can make some small changes now, and then increase your lifestyle changes when you feel more comfortable.
One of the first changes you can make is to switch the type of milk you drink. Just from switching from whole milk to 1%, you can lose 5 pounds a year. Also, opt for water instead of soda or even fruit juice. While you may think that juice is a better choice than soda, what you may not know is that there are nearly as many calories hidden in that fruit juice as a can of soda. Eat fresh fruit to for the vitamins and nutrients—save yourself the calories.
Another important, but easy change you can make is to not eat until you are completely full. There is a Chinese saying to “eat until you are eight-tenths full.” This is great advice. What you may not know is that eventually, if you do not eat until you are completely stuffed every meal, your stomach will begin to shrink—without surgery. This will help you to be hungry less often.
Start by making small lifestyle changes, and you will find yourself changing your thought process from “dieting” to “living healthy” and you will be able to lose excess weight and keep it off.