12/30/2006 14:34
Psyching us up for a good plan!
Tips for starting your way to a healthier and fitter you... as taken from Calorie King ;)
- Take a realistic approach. When you want to lose weight, do it sensibly. Educate yourself and change your eating and exercise habits instead of popping a pill; diet pills can't change bad habits. But don't go overboard with plans of weighing and measuring everything – including yourself! Extreme regimentation and expectations will come crashing down and may end in defeat.
- Keep your diet balanced. Cutting out an entire food group leads to nutritional imbalance and cravings and is a sure way to set yourself up for failure. A well-balanced diet that includes healthy carbohydrates, fats, protein and fiber is a better bet for success. Although cutting carbs may help you to initially lose weight, a quick fix is an ultimate failure.
- Set realistic goals. No matter what your personality, goals are a crucial key to success – provided they are realistic. Aiming to look like you did twenty years ago is an unrealistic goal; remember that overly-high expectations are a sure way to fail. It's also dangerous to lose too much weight too fast. Approximately one pound per week is a good target – but don't expect to hit the mark every week. Also be prepared for plateaus.
- Understand the basics of dieting before you start! Cutting 500 calories per day will usually result in one pound of weight lost per week – depending on the individual. You should never reduce your calories to less than 1200 a day as this is dangerous to your health. And even if you cut down on fat and carbs, you still need to count calories.
- Expect good things – learn from the past. People often let their past experience hamper their current diet, saying things like "I've failed once, I'm sure to fail again". Bottom line is: If you believe you're going to fail, you probably will. On the other hand, unrealistic expectations (such as wanting to look like Halle Berry) will also lead to disappointment and failure. Instead, keep your focus, learn from your mistakes, don't expect to be perfect, and keep trying!
- Don't rely on willpower. Relying on willpower to avoid the foods you love is a sure way to set yourself up for failure. Willpower is a depleting resource that eventually fails. It's better to get problem foods out of your environment – out of sight and out of mind. Hiding them may work for a while, but because they are still available, you will still think about them and use willpower to resist.
- Learn to say "no". When someone is kind enough to bake brownies (or anything else) for you, it is important to be appreciative – but there's no need to go to extremes! Perhaps more importantly, you need to discriminate between a kind offer and an effort to sabotage your diet goals. In a situation like that of question 3, saying "no" and sticking to it is your best bet. Just make sure it's clear you are rejecting the food, not the person who made it. This way, everyone's off the hook. If the direct approach doesn't work, say you'll "eat it later" and then find another willing taker!
- Know how to cope with mistakes. Keeping things in perspective after you make a mistake is vital to success. Post-mistake over-exercising and calorie restriction can be taken to an extreme and may result in metabolic disruptions. If done thoughtfully, however, it can be effective. In the end though, it's best to return to your regular weight-loss plan and carry on; one mistake does not spell complete failure.
- Plan ahead. A lack of preparation is a common way to set yourself up for failure, and depriving yourself of everything but water and celery at a party is not a great way to go about things either. Saving up all your calories to binge at a party is a dangerous way to diet. If you're going to a party or a buffet, or even just grocery shopping – just be prepared. Fill up on low-calorie snacks before you go, prepare for decisions in advance, and take a healthy attitude with you!