Attention all dieters. Now hear this. The title of this article is bogus. It is probably the biggest lie about weight loss that people buy into, day after day, year after year. There is no such thing as a fast track to weight loss. None. Zero. Zippo. Nada. Sure, there are countless numbers of people and products promising to pare off those pounds, quickly and easily. They eliminate your cravings, fill you up and burn calories at supersonic rates. They are all "clinically" safe or have passed several random, unknown (and unpublished) trials. But the bottom line is always the same. There is no quick fix. The road to real and lasting weight loss is agonizingly slow...particularly if you have more than 20 pounds to lose.
The Truth about Fast Weight Loss Just Isn't the Truth
The truth is that people that need to lose weight typically have needed to lose weight for a long time...years, maybe decades. It is also true that most of those very same people have no trouble whatsoever losing weight. They have lost 20 or 30 or 50 pounds numerous times in their lives. And sadly, it is now a well known, published medical fact that more than 95% of those people re-gained all the weight they lost in a relatively short period of time (1). It has even been documented that most of the people who lost their weight not only re-gained their original weight, but added extra pounds besides.
Follow This Fable to Lose Belly Fat
What overweight Americans need to do about the burden they are carrying around their bellies (or hips or thighs) is to adopt the attitude of the tortoise. Remember the old tale of the tortoise and the hare? The hare thought himself clever and wily and vastly underestimated his competition. He was so quick to show off his speed, he expended all of his energy early in the race. The tortoise, on the other hand, planned his route and painstakingly plodded along the path, slowly but steadily and beat the cocky rabbit to the finish line.
Fads and Fad Diets Don't Work
Slow and steady is infinitely harder to do for those who want instant gratification, which includes practically everyone. Society has spoiled everyone into expecting whatever they undertake to have immediate results. Immediate as in fast.. But slow and steady is the only way to ensure success, and the sooner the brain is fooled into thinking that way, the better the results will be. The weight will come off, but this time it will happen slowly and steadily, a pound or two at a time, and there will be no delusions about peeling off a ton of weight by drinking faddish shakes, crazy unsupervised fasts and one-ingredient diets. One other thing: this time the weight will stay off. Try to make friends with the concept of "slowing down" in general. Those who eat fast must make deliberate efforts to slow down. Eating slowly allows the brain to receive the signal that you are full and relays that information to your appetite. People who feel full after eating do not overeat.
Even Slow Walking Is Good Walking
Of course, exercise is a key ingredient in the weight loss struggle. But it is not necessary to become a gym rat. Walk and walk some more, and commit to doing it daily. And forget race-walking. What good is race-walking if you don't do it because it feels too much like work? By blowing it off entirely, you aren't moving at all. Slow, leisurely walking is far more effective than not walking and doing it consistently, especially if you enjoy it, will yield results, albeit slowly. Walking is also a great way to relieve excessive stress.
Stress Causes Fat - Relax!
People who have a hard time relaxing and feel they must be productive every moment of the day really need to slow down. Stress is a part of all our lives. It has been shown that too much stress can produce an excess amount of the hormone cortisol, the hormone responsible for creating that awful belly fat that is so hard to eliminate. Stop and take some slow deep breaths several times a day. If you find you can't remember to do it randomly, make it a ritual at meal time. Take some slow, easy, deep breaths a few times either before eating or afterwards, reminding yourself all the while that slow is the way to go.
The most important reason to slow down all the various activities in your life is to recognize that your health depends on it. Slowing down long enough to understand and adopt the attitude of the tortoise (who always knew that slow and steady was the way to go) in that famous fable, is the first meaningful step to successful, lasting weight loss: the kind that does not come back. Remember, when it comes to weight loss, slow is always the way to go.
Source:
1. health thread website; Dr. Leibel Tells Why 95% of Dieters Gain the Weight Back; Accessed 4/12/10
Luci Blasi - Luci Blasi Luci has dabbled in writing since she was a teenager, writing poetry about teenage love and angst. She is in the process of ...
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