Losing Weight and Keeping it Off Permanently Without Dieting

How many of you have been on a diet, lost the weight, come off of the diet and gained the weight back? Well don’t feel alone. Studies have shown that this happens to all but two percent of the people who go on diets. In 1980, I weighed 220 pounds. When I stood sideways, I looked like the profile of Alfred Hitchcock. My blood pressure was sky high and my blood sugar level was all out of whack. My doctor put me on a low carbohydrate diet with a moderate exercise program. I would like to share with you what I learned about diet and exercise

The word diet is very misleading. It sounds like it's something that is permanent and that is all you need to lose weight. But that is not true. Diet by itself is a temporary thing. If you look up the word diet in the dictionary, one of the definitions should be “temporary.” The following is what I found is the key to permanent weight loss.

If you burn more calories than you take in, you will lose weight. If you take in more calories than you burn, you will gain weight. If you take in the same amount of calories, you burn; you will maintain your weight. It doesn't matter what kind of diet you are on Atkins, South Beach, Weight watchers, or whatever. Whether you count calories or not, your system does. So how do you burn more calories than you take in? Here is a list of the ways to do it.

If you are going to lose weight permanently, you have to exercise on a regular basis. I got into a run/walk exercise program where you start out walking more than you are running. But at the end of 12 weeks, I was running three miles in 30 minutes. I know many people don't like to exercise or sweat, but to motivate yourself, think of the benefits of exercise.

Eat smaller portions of food. I used to eat everything in sight. Instead of having one piece of pie for dessert, I would have two. Instead of one cookie, I would eat six. Primitive man did not know where his next meal was coming from or when. So when he sat down to eat, he would eat until he didn’t have to. We are still wired for that. On the other hand skipping meals will cause your metabolism to slow down. This happens because your system doesn't know when it is going to eat again so it stops burning fat thinking it might have to live on those fat stores.

You can exercise your table muscle by literally pushing yourself away from the table. When you do that, you will give your "appestat" a chance to catch up with your feeling full. There really is no "appestat", but what happens is that if you just stop eating, after a while, you will feel full.

Learn the difference between the three nutritional elements. Just click on the links below.

• Carbohydrates
• Proteins
• Fats

There are simple carbohydrates and complex carbohydrates. Complex are good for you and simple are not. Refined sugars make up the simple carbohydrates. There are good fats and bad fats. Proteins are proteins. Learn how to read the nutrition labels that come with foods. There is a wealth of information on them. Within in any 24 hour period, you should take in food from all three of the nutritional elements.

When you start into an exercise program don’t do too much too soon. You will burn yourself out. While you are practicing portion control, don’t leave snacks on the kitchen counter like peanuts, chips, or trail mix. I guarantee you that if you leave snacks out, you will eat them until they are all gone and do it subconsciously without even realizing it.

I’m not a dietitian nor a nutritionist, but I am living proof that it can be done. I lost that weight in 1980, and never gained it back, My blood pressure is under control and I never had a problem with my blood sugar level since. I practice the areas that I covered in this Hub, everyday. The points I have presented are just common sense and it can work for you as well. Just remember all diets are temporary. In order to lose weight permanently, you have to change your behavior by exercising on a regular basis, using portion control, and not sabotaging yourself.