Most of us have tried to diet at some point in our lives. It is so popular that an estimated that 70% of adult women and 30% of adult men have been on a diet. There are many different diets to choose from and unfortunately most only produce short-term results. Once the dieter gets to their target weight and reverts to old eating habits, it all comes back and sometimes even more weight is put on. Dieting fails for many reasons, but hormonal changes, muscle loss and frustration/boredom are at the top of the list. In this article we will discuss diets and why they fail, the right way to maintain weight.

D-I-E-T is a Four Letter Word

Many diets are low-calorie, which only slows your metabolism, but you actually need to increase in your metabolism in order to lose weight. Let’s briefly talk about what happens when our bodies encounter a shortage of calories. Once you start to deprive your body of needed calories, it starts to break down muscle for fuel, NOT fat. Once the muscle protein is broken down, it releases nitrogen, and then our bodies release water from tissue cells to wash away the nitrogen. Immediately there is a reduction of weight from the water that washed away with the nitrogen. However, as soon as you have a glass of water, you guessed it, the water weight comes right back.

Crash diets and dieting in general are not very healthy for our bodies. Dieting is not a lifestyle. The solution to dieting is an active lifestyle that includes healthy eating habits, aerobic exercise and a weight training program to build muscle. Let’s start with the healthy diet. A healthy diet is not something you suffer through for a week or two, depriving yourself of your favorite foods. It consists of whole grains, fruits, vegetables and lean protein eaten in 4 to 6 small meals throughout the day. Also, don’t forget that we need to drink 6-8 glasses of water every day (water is very filling). It is very important to eat in the morning as it gives us energy to start the day. We need our metabolism to work well if we are to maintain energy and keep the muscle from turning to fat. Muscle burns many more calories than fat even when you are not active. Muscle is also much more dense than fat.

Think of a pound of muscle as a small rock and a pound of fat as a bag full of leaves. Obviously, the rock is much smaller than a bag full of leaves and takes less space. The same goes for muscle versus fat, in that muscle is dense and weighs more, while fat takes more space for the same amount of muscle.

Weight Training

Weight training builds muscle, so it is possible to get smaller and heavier at the same time. The bathroom scale is not very reliable at this time since the weight is converting to muscle. A better metric is the number of inches you will lose. Also keeping up an aerobic routine will promote a more active metabolism.

This doesn’t mean you have to spend money on a gym membership; you can create a work out regimen at home.

Also, all the little extras add up:

· park at the back of parking lots and walk to the store
· get up from your desk at work and walk for 10 minutes (a few times a day)
· have healthy snacks like fruits, raw veggies, nuts and seeds
· only eat if you are hungry, stop before you are full
· start with smaller portions and eat slowly – that way you will feel satisfied once your food has the chance to settle in.

Remember, the only people who lose weight and keep it off are the ones who make permanent changes to their lifestyle and eating habits. Set attainable short term goals to see the progress you are making and the long term goal that you set will become clearer. Create a calendar with your work out schedule, eating routine and your goals. Also, creating a notebook to write down what you ate, what time, and how you felt while eating it will help you to understand your eating habits and where the changes need to be made. Adjusting to these changes takes time and a lot of patience. Just don’t give up!!!