Weight Loss - Why Dieting is Not the Answer
Posted by Christian Aguirre on Wed, Sep 23, 2009 @ 02:35 PM
Most Hercules 94547 residents talk about weight loss on a regular basis. However, what they really want is the ability to lose weight and keep it off. No one wants to be stuck in a cycle of shedding some extra pounds, only to gain them back.
Most Diets Do Work (But There's a Catch)
The key to changing your body instead of simply starting another diet is to make a long-term commitment. Diets do work. You can download a popular diet book to your Kindle, take note of ways to eat less, apply those notes and you will lose weight. The problem is the types of strategies advocated by almost all diet books only focus on the short-term. Because you're not making any fundamental changes, as soon as you stop following those exact tips, any pounds you lost will begin creeping back.
If you decide that you truly want to commit to changing your body, the first step is understanding the current shape of your body. Although you probably assume you know this information, most people significantly misjudge the shape of their body.
Why You Should Care About Your Body Fat But Not Your BMI
Run of the mill advice usually suggests finding your BMI to get a concrete understanding of your body's current shape. The problem with this advice is there are multiple flaws with the BMI metric. For example, this overly simplified metric could easily classify a muscular person with low body fat as overweight.
A much better option for getting a concrete understanding of where you're truly at is to have your body fat measured by a personal trainer. While stepping on a scale can give you some insight into your current shape, measuring body fat is what will tell the full story.
The reason it's so important to know your body fat from the beginning is so weighing yourself on a regular scale doesn't inadvertently derail your weight loss. As you get in better shape, you will begin adding muscle to your body. Whether you are a man or a woman, adding muscle to your body will make you more attractive.
However, because muscle does have weight, if you're only looking at the number on a scale, you may become discouraged because you think you're not losing any weight. But by having a personal trainer measure your body fat on a regular basis, you'll see that your body is actually transforming from soft and pudgy to more toned.
If You Want Permanent Weight Loss, You Can Achieve It
Trying to lose weight by dieting puts you in an all or nothing situation. As soon as you begin straying from the diet's strict rules, your progress stops and you start to slide backwards. But when you commit to actually changing your body, you will no longer view weight loss as an insurmountable obstacle. Instead, you will see that getting the body you want is a journey. With the help of a Hercules 94547 personal trainer, this journey can be successful without becoming overly stressful.
