Ditch those diets to really lose weight

<p>The end of August is a season of failing diets. Those who decided at the beginning of warm weather to eat right, get active and lose weight are tired of trying and are starting to look forward to cooler weather, bulkier clothes, Halloween candy and Thanksgiving dinners. Diets are dropped as ineffective or too painful .</p><p>Here is the truth about weight loss: Diets don't work. You can lose weight on a diet, but going on a diet implies going off that same diet, and then all the weight comes right back again. This is also true for weight-loss plans that depend on supplements and diet pills.</p><p>Assuming your doctor has ruled out metabolic reasons for the extra pounds, the sure way to lose weight is simple: Eat fewer calories than you burn and do it over a long period of time. Calories + Activity + Time = Weight Change. Do the math every day and it adds up.</p><p>The frustrated overweight person asks why a healthful lifestyle is so hard to stick to. If we were meant to live that way, wouldn't it be easier? Not necessarily. Losing weight only feels unnatural when we live a modern lifestyle. Humans are supposed to burn calories hunting and gathering food, working hard to survive. But we learned to make life easier. We invented the automobile, desk jobs, couches and remote controls. We created stores full of food. We gained weight.</p><p>If you are overweight, you have to intentionally counteract the poor health effects of modern conveniences. Create a realistic goal for yourself. You may be tempted by abundance and fast food. You could be sabotaged by the SUV and the couch. You may be too busy to take time from sitting at your computer or in the driver's seat to do anything active that burns calories. But there are changes you can make that will lead to long-term weight loss.</p><p>Change your caloric intake without suffering. You must eat enough to keep your body metabolism up, but it can be the kind of food that makes you feel good and yet lets you lose pounds at the same time. Some programs, such as Weight Watchers, help you retrain your eating habits; do not use them as diets, but as education and support for change. Think of it as graduate school in Healthful Lifestyles. You can learn to eat satisfying portions, to rediscover what it feels like to be full, and to eat foods that satisfy your cravings but don't add pounds. Do not deny yourself the emotional satisfaction food can bring, but do learn to eat well.</p><p>Get active and burn more calories than you eat. Start moving! Find something active that you like to do and do it regularly. Learn your own preferences. Are you competitive? Take up a sport. Do you hate any kind of exercise? Do it anyway, but do it to music or with a friend who keeps you going. Accept it as a necessary part of your life, and don't fight it. Park far away and walk, or better yet, walk to the store instead of driving (people who walk everywhere are far less likely to be overweight). Go dancing. Build muscle because toned muscle burns more calories than fat, even while you are sitting still. Drink cold water: Cold water prompts the body to burn more calories.</p><p>Above all, don't diet. If you want to lose weight, change your lifestyle and do it for life. Yes, it takes work to overcome modern life with all its conveniences. Humans today may not have to work so hard physically to find food and make a living, but they have to work harder at staying in shape. It's the price we pay for our ease of living. Work to balance your lifestyle or settle for being overweight. It's your choice.</p>