By DAVID TEPERA | Posted: Wednesday, July 1, 2015
If you want to lose weight and keep it off, stop dieting. It seems like I give diet and fitness tips almost daily, but the problem is our definition of dieting.
Most people think of diets as a temporary reduction of food in order to lose weight. This definition is true except for the word “temporary.”
When it comes to losing weight, it should be a permanent change. Almost all of us have tried the many fad diet trends, but they don’t keep the weight off. There seems to be a diet war between all the choices.
Remember Oprah Winfrey and the liquid diet? Her goal was to fit into a small size pair of Jordache jeans. She accomplished her goal, but we all witness the end results. Oprah said when she went back to her dressing room, she scarfed down a whole big bag of potato chips. Everyone I know who tried that diet became more overweight shortly after.
When it comes to losing weight, you should be making a lifestyle change. Sometimes, my family thinks I’m kind of strange because I order grilled chicken salads when we are out to eat at a nice restaurant. I explained how much better and energetic I feel after a light, healthy dinner compared to the heavy, saturated meals.
Recently, my 14-year-old daughter decided to order the same light meals as me. To her surprise, the food was tasty, she felt full, and had a better overall feeling.
The process of losing weight doesn’t have to be a burden. I find pleasure eating nature’s fresh foods.
Without going into detail, here are a few quick lifestyle diet tips: avoid sodas and junk food, eat healthy snacks between meals to ward off hunger, eat breakfast, choose whole foods over processed, and, most of all, change your environment.
Remember, if you don’t change lifestyle, the weight will always come back.
A clean diet doesn’t mean doing the dishes while eating chocolate cake.