Change The Way You Think About Weight Loss

I don’t advocate fad diets in fact I’m not keen on the word diet!

What I’d like to get across here is my strong conviction that weight loss has to be done with the emphasis on health.

The opposite of “healthy”…

I heard of one woman who lost weight by eating one peach a day and drinking one cup of black coffee. I know of a man who ate mainly baked potatoes and little else for several months.

Both developed serious health problems not surprisingly. Clearly, neither of them was thinking about what was best for their body.

With all the confusing and conflicting information that abounds in the press and on the Internet, I can see why many people are bewildered about what constitutes healthy nutrition.

Healthy basics

However, if you cut through the hype and the sensational press reporting, the core advice coming from nutritionists has been consistent over the years.

Eat lots of fruit and vegetables; eat wholegrains rather than refined foods like white bread; cut down on unhealthy saturated fat from animal products and replace it with the good fats found in oily fish, seeds and nuts. Reduce tea, coffee and sugar, and enjoy alcohol in moderation.

Boring, some people say.

But think about it do you really need to eat kebabs and get drunk every night in order to be an interesting person?! How about living a healthy, energy packed life instead, where you actually do lots of interesting things? Sounds better to me!

5 Ways To Change The Way You Think About Weight Loss

1. Ditch the diet.

Think health rather than weight loss – concentrate on delicious healthy food rather than the latest slimming fad. Fad diets are bad news for your body, are impossible to stick with for any length of time, and are based more on what will make healthy profits for others rather than a healthy body for you. Avoid them.

2. Respect your body.

Realise what a marvellous creation your body is, how hard it works for you – and resolve to treat it with respect, by ditching unnatural and unhealthy eating regimes. Instead, feed it nutritious and delicious food that will help it to function at peak performance. Think of those exciting life goals that you’ve always wanted to do – kayaking, travelling, whatever you want to achieve – and how much easier they will be if you’re slim, fit and bursting with energy.

3. Set realistic goals.

Decide on a target weight and a realistic time scale in which you’ll achieve it. Don’t attempt too much too soon. That just leads to a vicious cycle of yo – yo dieting. You probably took some time to become overweight, and it won’t resolve itself overnight – that’s just not realistic. Take things slowly and steadily for best results, ones that are more likely to be permanent.

4. Learn about nutrition.

Many people know very little about what their bodies need to function well and there’s a lot of misinformation bandied about in magazines and on the Internet. Make sure you know what foods are good for the body and will help you become slim and trim. A good book is Patrick Holford’s “The Optimum Nutrition Bible” . By learning about nutrition, you can set the foundation for healthy eating and weight control…for life.

5. Think long term.

If you’re keen to lose weight, you need to think beyond the need to fit into a bikini on your next holiday, or your wedding dress. Picture yourself as slim and healthy 10, 20, 30 years and more from now and really believe that you can achieve it. If weight loss is to succeed long term, you need to think long term, and that involves changing the way you think about food…for ever.

This article was written by Maggie Nutt , a qualified nutritionist and Health Coach.