Permanent Weight Loss - The Golden Rule

More people struggle with weight loss and dieting than with any disease in history. Each year the obesity epidemic worsens and pushes farther into the epidemic category. Why then is it so difficult to make progress on any front, no matter what type of diet or exercise plan we try?

The unfortunate answer to this question is that we are permeated with misinformation at every turn. We are hypnotized, fed half truths, and told outright lies to keep us consuming. Cutting through all of this misinformation is the first step toward permanent weight management. And the good news is, the more you begin to understand, the easier time you will have losing that excess fat and keeping it off for good!

Let's begin with the golden rule of dieting and weight loss, one that is shouted from the mountain tops. It comes across in every magazine, fad diet, book, TV special, or pamphlet on weight loss. That rule is; eat fewer calories than you burn. But is this truly the golden rule of dieting? Let's take a look at the pros and cons of this rule and dispel some of the lies that slow you down.

Yes it is true that if you eat less calories than you burn, you will lose weight, theoretically. Unfortunately this is only half of the story and usually the number one reason why people destroy themselves trying to lose fat, only to get mediocre results that ultimately lead to giving up and failure. Everyone now knows the benefits of healthy foods and exercises for weight management. But rarely does the general public understand why they are beneficial. This understanding will transform your ability to super charge your fat loss and keep it off for good.

Simply eating fewer calories than you burn will lead to weight loss. The problem with this idea that fad diets use as their biggest selling point is that if you eat foods that are questionable in nutritional content, you end up getting improper nutrition. So what exactly does this do? Improper nutrition leads to nutritional deficiencies within the body and ultimately to that ugly word hated by every dieter; cravings, or even worse; binging. Junk foods are empty calories so your body gets nothing you need. You fill up momentarily but are often hungry soon after. Either that or you end up eating more. There is a simple reason for this; your body is telling you that this food is not giving it what it needs and so it asks for more. The first step toward beating cravings is to give the body what it needs. Consuming nutritionally dense foods will allow your body to fill up faster while eating less. Not only that, once the body has a full supply of nutrients, cravings naturally subside, leaving you free from binging.

It is imperative that you learn from the start our number one rule of dieting. IF YOU CAN'T PRONOUNCE THE INGREDIENT, DO NOT EAT IT! Synthetic vitamins do not help you fill your nutritional reservoirs. Contrary to what large food manufactures and vitamin companies want you to think, taking synthetic vitamins or consuming them as additives in food does nothing for you. THIS IS WHY DIETERS FAIL. Vitamins naturally occurring in food are the ONLY source of nutrition that will cause your cravings to subside. Learn to read nutritional labels; don't just look at the vitamin content.

For example: If a box of cereal has 100% of the calcium needed for the day in one bowl, look at what the calcium comes from. Chances are it is calcium carbonate. Yea, that is chalk. The very same chalk that children use in school, and surprise, it does nothing for the body. Translation: You are getting 0% of your calcium. This misleading information occurs in almost every processed food unless it is made extraordinarily well.

Next, the "golden rule" fails to mention the number one helper on a diet. Exercise! A good exercise program has tremendous benefits! Exercise is an astounding appetite suppressant if done correctly. If a good exercise program is employed, it has the ability to mobilize fat stores and keep the body burning fat for up to 48 hours after you stop exercising. Imagine that, sleeping and burning fat just because you did a good workout that morning! Look for an exercise program that is flexible and can fit to your needs, rather than one that says you must follow what they say down to the letter. IF you fit an exercise program to your schedule and your needs, you have the ability to change it as you see fit, never allowing those cravings to destroy your progress.

In conclusion:

Eating fewer calories does lead to weight loss. But, to make that weight loss permanent, eat the right kinds of foods that will fill your body's nutritional reserves, helping to eliminate cravings. Remember, a good exercise program is worth its weight in gold. Exercising regularly helps to suppress the appetite and mobilize fat stores.

 By Cory Brusseau