What’s the latest trend top burn weight the fat off? Is it Keto? Is it I lost 30 pounds in 30 days by only eating bacon and drinking lemon juice with cayenne pepper. That’s how a fad diet operates. You hear about it on a late-night infomercial, or when celebrity swears by it on some talk show, you stumble across. Suddenly a friend of a friend has tried it and can’t believe how great it works.
Unfortunately, that’s not how it works. Just like there is no magic way to earn thousands of dollars without getting off the couch, there’s also no healthy way to change your body without incorporating sustainable lifestyle changes.
If you want to lose weight, get in shape, or feel better about yourself, changing your diet is just one component of the fitness formula.
The best way to achieve, and most importantly, maintain, the results you’re looking for is by committing to a lifestyle change that incorporates healthy eating and regular physical activity.
1. Long-term over short-term: There’s a reason most fad diets promise results in 30 days or less. It’s human nature to be attracted to the quick fix – the longer something takes, the more work that’s involved. But it’s precisely these promised fast results that should elicit alarm bells in your head.
“Such diets limit your nutritional intake, can be unhealthy, and tend to fail in the long run,” said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “The key to achieving and maintaining a healthy weight isn’t about short-term dietary changes.”
One study found that nearly 70 percent of people who tried fad diets regained all of the weight they lost, with some even gaining more weight that they started with.It may not be lightning fast, but the long-term approach of changing your lifestyle will yield results that are healthier and far more substantial over time.
2.Don’t just cut out, add on: When you think about changing your diet, the first thought is usually about cutting out all of the bad things you eat. But it doesn’t have to be all about subtraction.
While you probably should try to cut back on the desserts or high-fat snacks, you should also try to expand your dietary repertoire by adding in new fruits and vegetables to your daily meals. Bananas, apples, and oranges are good staples but mix in mango, pineapple or kiwi now and then. Finding new, nutritious food options can make eating healthy so much easier.
3. Commit to the bit: If you’re not all in on making lifestyle changes, odds are you’ll go back to your old habits pretty quickly. Committing to exercising 30 minutes a day when you haven’t been to the gym in over a year or eliminating sodas from your diet when you regularly drink three Diet Cokes a day can be daunting, but it will be worth it in the long run.
The best advice is to set realistic goals and adopt patterns that you can sustain for a lifetime, instead of temporary quick fixes. And remember that it’s okay to reward yourself when you reach a milestone or achieve a desired goal. As long as you continue to maintain your new lifestyle changes, you’ll remain on the road to creating the healthiest, best version of yourself!
Heritage Victor Valley Medical Group (HVVMG) offers its members award-winning Coordinated care with a speedy referral system. Heritage has 45 primary care physicians and a panel of two hundred medical specialists across Southern California’s High Desert, as well as the mountain communities. HVVMG has a locally based members service team and is dedicated to a spirit of excellence. HVVMG is part of the Heritage Provider Network
Not a Heritage member? Above all, you’ll love the way you feel with Heritage Victor Valley Medical Group. There is no cost, and you can keep your current health insurance, switch to a Heritage doctor. Call (800) 655-9999 to learn more.
