Don't Diet for Weight Loss

(Image source:here) 

With the start of a new year for many people it means a start of a new diet. Well I'm going to have to stop you right there. I want you to answer a few questions before we go any further. Have you been on a 'diet' before? Did it work? If yes for how long? If no why not? If strict diets didn't work for you the first time why put yourself through it again?

The truth is if you can't sustain the diet for the rest of your life then chances are you will go back to how you were eating before and possibly gain weight.

When you have been following a diet have you ever had one of those 'what the heck' moments where you have something the diet says you aren't 'allowed' to have (a piece of pizza, a couple of m & m's) and you think to yourself 'What is the point now? why bother eating this way any more, it's all ruined'. These are usually the breaking point of a diet where you go back to your old ways. This is usually accompanied with a feeling of guilt and failure. As well as all of that stress you also suffer a blow to your metabolism.

When you stop dieting your metabolism is working slowly and your body will want to store a lot more food than normal to rebuild the muscle and fat lost.As well as rebuilding your stores extra fat will be held on to in preparation for what your body sees as the next famine (another bout of dieting).

(Image source here)

So if 'diets' don't work how are you supposed to lose weight? The trick is baby steps. Choose something small that you want to change and start there. An example could be you normally use full fat milk and you choose to change to skim milk. Once you have mastered that first step you move on to the next one. The goal is to find balance.

A good way of determining balance is to compare your diet to the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating (Calculate your serves here). A helpful tool to help you keep track of all these positive changes is to keep a food diary. There are so many apps available that can help you do this a few include the Easy Diet Diary and MyFitnessPal.

 The saying 'if you fall off the horse get right back on again' applies here. It is ok to slip up or to treat yourself every now and then. We are all human and no one is perfect. Next meal get back into your good habits and everything will be fine.

I hope this message comes across loud and clear. You don't need to follow a diet to lose weight. Making small changes at a time is far more sustainable and in my opinion much more enjoyable.

If you have any questions feel free to leave them in the comments :)

Happy non-dieting,
Bridge