Why Diets Don’t Work
Americans spend millions of dollars per year on diet programs, weight loss pills and gym memberships, and yet the obesity rate in America dramatically increases from year to year. There are many different reasons why the obesity problem in America continues to get worse and worse, however to put it rather harshly the two main reasonas are laziness and convenience.
It is much harder to follow a diet and see results if you don’t exercise, but people have become so busy with work and driving kids to soccer practice that they leave no time to workout or participate in any kind of daily exercise. People have also become so dependent on their cars that they will drive to work even if they are close enough to walk or ride a bike. This lack of effort to establish some kind of daily exercise routine is one of the leading causes of failed diets and weight loss attempts. Diet and exercise should go hand in hand together. Without one, you are sure to fail.
Americans have become dependent on the diet pill to fix all of their weight loss problems. They feel like as long as they are popping these pills twice a day, it justifies them eating a double whopper for lunch. Weight loss is never easy and thinking it can occur with a quick fix like a diet pill is a sure sign that your diet will fail. There are no “miracle” diet pills. If there were don’t you think that we all would know about it by now? If diet pills really worked Americans would not be the heaviest they’ve ever been.
Diets that severely restrict your caloric intake are also likely to fail. This is because your body needs at the very minimum 1,000 calories per day to survive; even this number is pushing it. When you severely decrease your caloric intake your body begins to shut down in order to preserve energy. This actually makes it harder to burn calories and lose weight. You will also have little energy to perform normal daily tasks. Most people who attempt this type of diet can only maintain it for a few days and then end up binging in order to make up for the lost calories.
Diets that have regimented meal plans are also difficult to follow. These plans mean that the dieter must either buy expensive diet shakes or meals and stock up their fridge with very specific foods. It also cuts out the idea that they will ever be able to eat out. Instead, the dieter will need to eat at home what is planned out for them for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. Our busy, on-the-go lifestyle makes it very hard to follow this kind of diet plan. It is also difficult to follow because you usually end up craving something that is not a part of this regimented plan.
Convenience and fast food restaurants are the killers of any diet. This weakness normally begins with the kids begging you to stop on the way home from school for a happy meal. You give in and while you’re waiting to order, you look over the menu and decide to order an extra value meal for yourself as well. It’s convenient, on the way home, and it means you don’t have to spend any time in the kitchen. It seems like the perfect solution to a busy day, except for the extra 1,500 calories it packs on. That’s 500 calories more than the minimum amout of calories that you should be consuming for the entire day.
The good news is that you do not need to diet in order to lose weight. Simply forego fast food restaurants, cook at home instead. The second step is to eat what you want, but to use portion control. Instead of cooking a big pot of pasta, cook a small one instead. If you don’t have a big plateful of food in front of you, it will prevent you from eating too much. Try to incorporate a balanced diet into your daily routine. Having a bowl of ice cream once a week will not kill your diet. It is a good idea though to keep the scoop of ice cream minimal, add a bunch of strawberries, blueberries, or other favorite fruit on top, and hold off on the hot fudge.
Scott White
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