The Art of Going On A Diet Without Actually Dieting
By Donovan Baldwin
When people decide to lose weight, one of the most common strategies, is dieting.
Now, there's nothing wrong with "dieting" per se. Especially when you consider that diets of all kinds exist to accomplish many different health goals. There are diets for allergies, diets for insomnia, diets for athletes. Different foods in different amounts have different effects on the human body, and even on the human mind.
So, it's not surprising that eating certain foods in certain amounts can affect your weight.
Of course, one problem is that food, specifically the nutrients within that food, is essential to health. Depriving your body of those nutrients by dieting, in the sense of depriving yourself of food in hopes of losing weight... whether for beauty or for health... can be unhealthy.
What many people overlook is the fact that food CAN be healthy and good for you. The problem is not so much with the fact that we eat food, but, that we eat the wrong foods, and often in the wrong quantities.
Just as an aside, remember that, in addition to our diet, there are other factors which influence our weight and health, including, but not limited to, exercise, sleep, medications, age, gender, and genetics, just as a short list. Simply limiting food intake may not help at all. Or, it may cause unhealthy weight loss, since we may be limiting our intake of the nutrients we need for health... and perhaps for the energy to exercise, or for good sleep, or for the optimum expression of other factors affecting health and weight.
Another reason to avoid dieting for weight loss is that it can be counterproductive in many ways:
- It may cause your metabolism to seek a new level... a lower level at which fewer calories are needed for normal operations, with the excess being stored as fat.
- It may result in that new, lower metabolism, contributing to even more weight gain, if you go off the diet.
- Most diets are not satisfying, and are often perceived as "punishment" of some kind, causing them to be abandoned simply because they do not include pleasure.
- Most diets are eventually not truly effective for weight loss, with the dieter giving up and feeling worse than before they started, perhaps in worse health, and with a lower metabolism that causes them to rapidly gain back any weight they might have lost.
- All of these points and others, may result in yo-yo dieting, a cycle of weight loss and weight gain in which the gains usually exceed the losses.
So, is there a good way to "diet" for weight loss without "going on a diet" in the traditional sense of sacrificing satisfying food?
Well, yes, there is.
Every bite of food you put in your mouth is a choice. Many foods, which may taste fine, are empty and lack nutritional benefit. Instead of "giving up" foods you like, why not find other foods you DO like, foods that taste good and are high in nutritional value, and eat them instead?
Yes, it will take a certain amount of willpower and some attention to detail, but, it will be much more pleasant and rewarding in both the short and the long run. Not only will you find your body fat going down, but your energy will increase, and you may sleep better, in addition to just feeling good... and good about yourself.
There are many diets which center around eating delicious, nutritious, healthy and satisfying foods, instead of giving up the stuff you shouldn't be eating in the first place.
So, why waste your time and effort dieting, and hating it, when you can get better results without actually going on a diet?
Donovan Baldwin is a 77-year-old exerciser, and freelance writer currently living in the Dallas - Fort Worth area. A University Of West Florida alumnus (1973) with a BA in accounting, he is a member of Mensa and has been an accountant, business manager, fiscal consultant, administrative supervisor, and manager. After retiring from the U. S. Army in 1995, with 21 years of service, he began writing on health and fitness, and, now, frequently publishes original articles on his own websites and for use by other webmasters. Learn why diets don't work at http://www.nodiet4me.com.
Web Page Copyright 2022 by Donovan Baldwin
The Art of Going On A Diet Without Actually Dieting
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Web Page Updated July 22, 2022
