Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Make a resolution to avoid fad diets
The new year often inspires motivation for self-improvement, which for many involves getting healthy and losing weight. If you are thinking “New Year, New Me” and are about to start a weight-loss diet, think again.
The majority of dieters will gain the weight back within one to three years or even sooner. While it is reasonable to create a plan to eat well with the intention of taking care of yourself and improving your health, committing to an unpleasant and restrictive weight loss diet will most often lead to dissatisfaction and failure.
Fad diets, coupled with unrealistic expectations for weight loss, are a recipe for weight cycling, the repeated loss and regain of body weight, which is often referred to as yo-yo dieting. While dieting may provide a short-term loss of weight, the results are hard to continue when the method of weight loss is unmanageable long-term.
When looking at the experiences of those who have been successful with longterm weight loss, there is not one diet that is superior. In fact, whether it’s a low-fat diet, a low-carb diet or something else, average weight loss among groups is hardly different.
The folks who do experience sustained weight loss have certain behaviors in common. The most significant factor is some modification of eating habits, which is often an overall reduction in the amount of food consumed daily, such as control of portion sizes. In addition, the other lifestyle habits associated with long-term weight loss include eating breakfast regularly, daily exercise for about an hour, weighing weekly, and minimizing consumption of television. Furthermore, this unique group of individuals is often motivated
By LeeAnn Weintraub Digital First Media
by factors beyond their own physique or the number on the scale, such as health promotion and family relationships.
In 2018, instead of falling into the common trap of fad diets and unrealistic expectations for losing weight, consider how you can better take care of yourself by creating a more healthful lifestyle based on sustainable changes to your eating habits.