Lifestyles

You can probably adhere to a fad diet and shed pounds fast.  Some destroy your metabolism in the process.  Some are quick fixes that don't last, and you gain the weight right back.  If you want lasting results, it's going to take more than just going extreme for a while.  I believe that I'm starting to sound like an infomercial now. 

I've looked at my fair share of fad diets and even attempted a few.  It doesn't work.  I tried the X-treme Fat Loss diet.  I lasted 1.5 days.  I tried a self modified version.  I lasted a day.  I've tried something called the Deadline Diet.  I didn't last the day.  The truth is, I like to eat and I like to eat solid food.  Shakes don't do it for me.  Perhaps I'm weird, but chocolate, vanilla, malted, and creamy are all just yuck to me.  Give me lemon.  Give me tangy.  Why would you ruin it by adding creme?  Ick.  Ah well.

Diets don't work mostly because they aren't sustainable.  Develop eating habits that you could live by and still lose weight.  I like fish, so I'll bake myself a tilapia filet.  With a bit of lemon and dill, it tastes so much better than a powdery vanilla shake and almost has the same amount of protein.  Or maybe some chicken.  I can take half a chicken breast with me, eat it with some sweet potato and steamed carrots, and that'll last me for a couple hours.  Who says you need to live on soup and salad to keep a trim figure?  I certainly don't, and couldn't, so why would I set up a temporary solution to a long term goal?

I work out at 4:30 in the morning.  I get in light cardio with a walk at 9:30, and then another walk at 11:30. If I'm ambitious, I might work out after work.  My mom looked at me in shock and said "you're going to take it easy after Beverlie's wedding, right?  Right?!"  To say my daily routine aloud might make it sound extreme, but I actually live a very sedentary life.  I work a desk job.  Then I come home, I'm on my feet for 2 or 3 hours with housework and cooking, and then I'm back on my butt, sitting in my worn out computer chair.  Not a lot of activity there.  Since I don't have the luxury of a job that keeps me moving, I need to work out.  There is no "taking it easy".  This is my life. 

Though I'm a self-proclaimed fitness nut, I'm anything but extreme.  I sound down right normal compared to the "no processed food, no cooked food" diet, or the "organic only" hippies.  I laugh at my husband's rants about how catch phrases are driving our market and the absurdity of it all.  You should have seen the look he gave me when I brought home organic yogurt one day.  It was cheaper.  I didn't buy it because it was  organic.  There's no scientific or clinical proof that organic or unprocessed foods are better for you.  They've gained popularity by playing on the "natural" appeal and slandering all other food as being full of toxins.  What constitutes a processed food?  Well, let's think.  Frozen vegetables are processed.  Frozen fish is processed.  Milk.  Yogurt.  The list goes on.  The fact is, shop with some sense and you'll probably do fine. 

To lose weight and keep it off, it has to be a lifestyle.  Make time to get active.  Eat less than you burn.