Do You Know the Problem with Fad Diets?

Just because you are losing weight, does not mean you are getting that lean body you desire. Truth is the faster you try to alter your body composition with careless dieting, the more likely your efforts are to backfire, especially for women whose fat mass comes easily. Although weight loss is a physical transformation, it can be emotionally frustrating when the scale doesn't budge in the right direction. No matter how healthy you eat or how much you work out, a positive outlook is needed for a successful weight loss journey. If you remember making a New Year's resolution to lose weight, but can't remember why now that you've decided to abandon your resolution, keeping your weight within a healthy range and/or working to move in that direction can help protect your heart and allow you to live a longer, more rewarding life.

YoYo Dieting Leads to Disordered Eating

Yo-Yo dieting can suck you into short term thinking that can screw up your feelings about food. Following an unhealthy menu plan can increase the risk of developing several conditions because:

• fad diets do not work and dieters don't lose lasting weight
• fad dieting can cause lasting injury to your health
• disordered eating leads to weight regain
• fad dieting leads to disordered eating
• crash or fad diets rely on food gimmicks

Trying to lose too much weight too fast can cause your hormones to signal that you are hungry but, at the same time, your body slows your metabolism to save energy. Now, you have an oversized appetite but you're burning fewer calories.

Learn to Appreciate Being a Healthier Person

Once you accept that nobody really cares about your weight or measurements, the numbers on a scale become meaningless. A healthy outlook will allow you to appreciate how you feel as well as your overall fitness for living the life you want to live. Being healthier is all about changing the quality of food you eat as well as moving more and staying active longer in life. So, ditch all ideas of a quick fix and focus on changes that will really work for you. Changing your mindset and opting for smaller plates and bowls will put you back on track for true serving sizes that match those found on USDA product labels. A recent study published in the journal Obesity concluded weight loss maintainers kept low-calorie foods readily accessible, followed daily menu plans to manage consumption and worked hard to stay focused on maintaining a positive outlook.