Make Positive Changes - Avoid Dieting

Why is it that merely saying the word "diet" immediately fills your head with thoughts of failure? Maybe it's because we've all learned through trial and error that diets simply don't work for most people? You're probably thinking "isn't this an article about dieting?" Yes and no. For many people dieting seems like the kiss of death, but for others a lifestyle adjustment like changing your diet could be just the thing that will mean success for you and your fitness and health goals.

Let's admit it, the majority of us love to eat. For some people, eating is an addiction. We don't like to feel deprived and a diet that never allows us to have a cookie of piece of cake can be pure torture. Eating stuff that tastes like cardboard can make you not want to eat at all. Unfortunately, you can't exactly give up eating all together. You have to eat to survive. This means that if food is a problem in your life, you should probably find a healthier way of viewing food.

Isn't this where diets generally come in handy? The short answer is no. This is where diets often fail. Diets do very little to change how we view food. In fact, most diets only serve to tell us which foods are good, which foods are bad, and which foods (typically most of the foods we enjoy most) are strictly taboo. Diets begin by forcing people to feel deprived or punished. And no one likes to feel either of these things.

Even worse however, is that we punish ourselves further when we slip up and stray off the straight and very narrow pathways upon which our diets place us. Then we wallow in guilt over every little misstep we take until we give up and decide to over indulge once again, completely ignoring the guilt.

In order to have real success you must make a lifestyle change. This is the only way that you will be able to shed those unwanted pounds without experiencing the horrible guilt that so many dieters go through each and every step of the way. Set goals for yourself. Keep them aggressive but realistic for fitness, dropping pounds, and eating new healthy foods. Even if your goal is as simple as eating 5 vegetable servings a day it is a great place to start. Taking baby steps is easier than running a marathon from day one.

Change your way of eating. Then change your way of seeing food and you will experience amazing changes in your attitudes toward your health, your body, and even your fitness level. As the first pounds begin to drop, you'll start to feel more energetic. You'll probably even feel pain when you're exercising. This should help keep you motivated to do even more as time goes by.

Long term weight is not easy. Meeting your weight loss goals will take commitment and discipline. The first five or ten pounds might come off quickly and easily. After that, the weight comes off more slowly and this is where most people get discouraged. Consistency is vitally important when making lifestyle changes. Take each day as it comes and begin again the very next day. This means that even if you fall completely "off the wagon" today, you can start over tomorrow. The trick is in staying the course and learning moderation and balance when it comes to trying not to stray from the straight and narrow.

There are numerous ways to mess up when it comes to dieting. Most of us will slip up from time to time and we have to remember that it's ok and we can get back on course pretty easily. Keep in mind that there no such thing as failure when you're making positive changes in your life that are getting positive results. It may take weeks, months, or even years to reach your goal. As long as you are making steady and continuous efforts and progress, you are doing many great things for your health and well being. Stick with it!

Denise Villani is an author and the webmaster of several websites and article directories. Find more articles and information on dieting and weight loss by visiting WeightLossStuff.info.

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Why Diets Don't Work - The Non-Dieter Mindset

So you're probably asking, "so what is the alternative?" I can't manage my weight on my own. At least diets give me something I can follow and much needed discipline. If not a diet, then what?

Well before we go further into this subject let us discuss what you can expect from this article series. What it is not is a magic formula. A formula is great to predict chemical reactions with precise accuracy in a controlled environment. But you are not a predictable chemical reaction. Every person reading this book right now is in a different environment, under different circumstances. There is no one thing that will work for everyone. This is the premise of diets, and this is what we are trying to get away from.

What the Non-Dieter Mindset seeks to do however, is to promote the attitude of the nondieter; to attempt to deprogram you so that you will never put yourself through the agony of another diet again. Perhaps this is the question of the century, and there's hardly one answer to it. But if you've ever been on one or two or 50 diets, you've probably answered this question by way of a trail of stories from here to infinity. But really, there are 5 fundamental reasons why diets don't work in my opinion.

#1 Reason Diets Don't Work: They regulate and dictate to you what you should and should not eat, taking all of the pleasure out of eating, and making it feel like a chore.

Now probably you are that unique type of person who loves chores, but for most of us chores really suck. Having an enjoyable meal is one of the greatest pleasures of life, and to put it frankly, diets spoil all the fun. Most diets get the boot before they pay off in pounds lost what they cost in dollars. Let's face it; we humans are not very good at doing non-fun things for too long.

#2 Reason Diets Don't Work: Someone who has most likely never met you or knows the lifestyle that you lead is dictating to you a 'cookie cutter' magic weight-loss formula. If you're the regular dieter, then you've probably purchased oodles of books and guides and programs developed by this or that fitness guru. You believed what they say, because after all, they're the expert, right? Try as you may, if the diet plan they're offering does not fit into your lifestyle or requires a dramatic overhaul of your everyday life that you are either unable or not ready to take on, then you are not likely to stick with it.

#3 Reason Diets Don't Work: Putting all our eggs in one diet. Many see a diet as the end-all, magic solution which it was never meant to be. Diets are never meant to be longterm, but in most cases achieving and maintaining your desired weight is. There is the possibility that a diet, for the duration of time that it lasts, could initiate an improvement in your eating that you are able to carry through long-term. However, diets can't replace good and healthful everyday eating practices.

#4 Reason Diets Don't Work: There are just too many diets out there, making it easier for people to simply drop off one hot diet craze, to get on another. If you want to loose weight, like yesterday, then you want to see results quick, and most diets play on this urgency that most dieters have to loose that weight. In fact, they often use this as part of their pitch line. "Loose 50 pounds in two weeks". You're desperate and you would do anything, so why not try it? Two weeks later you've barely lost 5 pounds, and you're beyond despondent. So you try another diet, because something must work. Slowly you're becoming a chronic dieter, and the vicious diet cycle begins.

#5 Reason Diets Don't Work: One word-Deprivation. We are surrounded by a bountiful supply of exciting and varied foods, but many diets force you to deprive yourself of entire groups or types of food at a time. The High-Protein Diet (Anti-starch), the Juice Diet, even the Bread Diet. But what about all of the other foods out there? Self deprivation of this magnitude might pass for a day or two, but hardly survives for a long time.

Of course, there are methods that do work. The one I recommend the most (thought about this for hours...) is currently offering free trials. This is a method that does not require dieting to be effective! Check below:

Read the free reports here to see what I mean. Here's where you'll learn how to naturally lose weight fast.

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The Detox Diet Controversy

Detox or Starvation?

The detox diet has come under harsh scrutiny over the past few months. There are ample claims that the only weight lost is the water weight form the initial fast and the natural weight loss occurs from cutting caloric intake. The detox diet is quite restrictive, to the point where some people are calling it a starvation diet. There have been countless articles written by "experts" that state that the detox diet endangers people, stating that it creates yo-yo dieting, an unhealthy relationship with food, and even can contribute to the development of an eating disorder.

We also know that the vast majority of the "experts" who write these articles are those in the health and weight loss industry, such as nutritionists, health program supervisors, weight loss counselors, and lay people with an extreme interest in health and fitness. While I am certainly not suggesting that anyone is fabricating evidence or creating thought processes that are not accurate, I am however, indicating that when a person is educated to see things in one specific manner, it can be very difficult for them to see the same principles in a varying manner. For example, if a dietician goes to college and is taught that green beans cause cancer, that dietician will graduate believing that green beans cause cancer. If the same dietician returns for occasional classes to keep her education current, and over the course of the next ten years, the dietician is once again taught that green beans cause cancer, then the dietician will continue to believe this and teach her clients this as well. Fifteen years later someone comes along and points out to the dietician that green beans don't cause cancer, how likely is the dietician to believe that green beans don't cause cancer?

This phenomenon is not solely related to dieticians and health related fields. This phenomenon actual relates to every field. As a writer I was taught that you never speak in double negatives. It's a basic principle I apply every day. If someone tried to convince me that the rules had suddenly changed, right or wrong, it has already been ingrained in me that double negatives are inappropriate and you shouldn't use them. Thus, if I criticize this new theory without completely re-educating myself on the basic rules of English and grammar, then I am relying solely on my previous knowledge to dispute this issue.

So let's break away from conventional dieticians and explore the detox diet with a completely blank slate. I am not a dietician. I am just a writer is interested to know whether the detox diet is a healthy form of purification, or if it is a hidden form of starvation that does nothing but allow some water weight loss and makes you believe you are healthier. I have assembled three people who have done the detox diet and three who have not. Granted, this is not a huge percentage to pull from, but I am not using them as test subjects, only to ask them to verify or deny detox diet statements that are made from both testimonials from detox dieters and criticism from dieticians.

Fasting and Purity

For centuries people have fasted for purity. If we look back through even ancient texts, we will find that the fasting was not for spiritual purity alone, but for physical purity as well. Fasting for purity often left the spiritual seeker feeling initially drained and then once again reenergized within a thirty six hour period. The purity that they felt within their spirits was also a purity that they felt through their body. This argument can be easily criticized that they felt their body's purity because of their spiritual lifting. All three detox dieters, who were not in search of spiritual enlightenment, all agreed that they felt weak from the initial starvation, but began to feel "clearer," before the end of the second day. None of them agreed that they were experiencing starvation. They all felt their fasting led to at least some form of physical purity.

In medical science, there are times when doctors recommend fasting. Not including pre surgical procedures, most fasting requirements are for some form of "readying" or purity. Prior to starting diets that treat illnesses, such as the ketogenic diet, there is a period of fasting required beforehand.

Critics of the detox diet claim that the headaches and general all over yucky feeling people experience in the first week of a detox diet is from a lack of food. However, champions of the detox diet say that the headaches and the generally "yucky" feeling they get when fasting coincides with a noticeable change in their excretions. My three detox dieters all agreed that when their urine and bowel movements became noticeably more "aromatic" they found themselves with headaches and a feeling of overall fatigue. They did not contribute this feeling to fasting.

I did an online search and found eleven dieticians that negated the detox diet. Each one of them claimed that the headaches were from the fasting, however, each of them offered their own version of the detox diet. Interesting. The dieticians' versions included what could almost be considered fasting. Their idea of not fasting was eating some fruit and yogurt. Most detox diets do not include a total fasting period.

The critics of the detox diet are not impressed with the detox diet weight loss. They claim that the detox diet weight loss comes from the loss of water weight during the fasting period and will be regained quickly when normal eating is resumed. The detox diet weight loss comes from various sources. If you are doing a complete detoxification, including the colon, all three of my detox dieters claim that you can see where some of the weight loss comes from as you are flushing it down the toilet. Two of my detox dieters had to call plumbers from the excessive waste they produced. Their detox diet weight loss has remained, and two of them started the detox diet more than six months prior to this writing. Detox diet weight loss remained in all three of my dieters because they make better choices. They resumed normal eating habits, but they did not return to ingesting large amounts of junk foods. They claim that the detox diet showed them how important maintaining a low toxic level was to their overall health.

Just Another Diet Trend?

The critics of the detox diet claim that this diet trend, like all those that came before it, is no more effective than anything else that has been put out there. Whenever a new diet trend comes along, people rush to participate, and then claim that it doesn't work. Not all diets will work for everyone. I tried the Atkins diet for awhile with little or no results, but a man I knew lost nearly thirty pounds on it. However Atkins doesn't work very well for people who are not significantly overweight, according to some critics and apparently my body. So, does that mean that the detox diet is more than just another diet trend, or will it fall to the wayside after a bit like every other diet trend. Of my detox dieters, 2 out of three say it's not a diet trend. It is a method of cleansing the body, which other diet trends simply don't do. The 3rd dieter says it is a diet trend, but a highly effective diet trend, and if a diet trend is effective then who cares if it's a trend? Interesting point.

Diet trend and fads usually don't carry much weight behind their claims. They are simply a theory produced to suggest that the latest Diet trend is the most effective weight loss plan and everyone needs to jump on board before their obesity claims them forever. The detox diet has a different aim, so I really poked around when trying to determine if this was simply just a diet trend or more of a health revolution.

There is overwhelming evidence that Americans and Canadians are in the poorest health overall, considering the health care we have available. The healthcare we have at our fingertips should make us one of the healthiest nations in the world, but we rank very low on the list. Most doctors and scientists contribute this to the foods we put into our body and the chemicals we come in contact with when eating, working, and playing. For the health choices that we have available to us, we have one of the highest rates of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and childhood cancer rates in the world. Of course, we also rank ridiculously high on the list for overweight and obese citizens.

The detox diet is concerned with addressing the overall health of Americans, not just their waistline. The diet trends that have come along have been concerned with treating the waistline issues, but not the overall health. So, is the detox diet just another diet trend? By technical definition, a diet trend meaning any new method of eating introduced into society that creates a sudden onslaught of followers, well then yes. However, it can't be considered a diet trend by any other definition. It was simply not developed for the same reasons or the same fashion that diet trends hit the market.

Thin people can benefit from the detox diet. Overweight people can benefit from the detox diet. Everyone in between can benefit from the detox diet. The detox diet isn't targeted for weight loss. Thus it is really about a healthier lifestyle. Detox dieting is geared toward permanent health. After a significant purge of the body's chemical and toxic build up, the detox diet is geared to long lasting non-toxic lifestyles rather than diet trends, which tend to be geared toward lifestyles that manage weight.

Decide for Yourself

Discover for yourself the difference in a good quality detox diet and just another diet trend. The best consumer is an informed consumer. Check out detox manual and decide for yourself about the power of a good detox diet. After the research I did for this article, I am definitely stopping at detox manual and taking my own detox diet trip.

Bobby Ryatt, If you enjoyed reading this articles, then go to my website where the detox guide is available. You will have all the information on the subject. The facts will open your eyes and expose some real truths. http://www.detoxmanual.com

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Three Dieting Myths That You Should Not Believe

When you are dieting and losing weight, there is quite a bit of contradictory information out there. At times it's hard to know what is true and what isn't. There are three common myths that you should not believe when you are on a diet. Learn the truth about these dieting myths.

Myth: If you eat later in the evening, that food will turn into fat.

This has been general dieting advice for quite some time. The rule might be not eating at all after 8 in the evening or something similar to that. The reason that this is a myth is because food in your body can't tell time. The body doesn't digest food differently after 8 in the evening any more than it does in the morning.

If you eat too much food that day, you will store fat. If you are eating late at night but it's still part of your diet plan, it's perfectly acceptable to eat then. The reason that this is normally given as advice is because most people had already ate the food they need by the late evening. This food typically is extra food on top of their diet that the person does not need.

Myth: Low fat foods will help you lose weight.

While purposely eating foods extremely high in fat will add pounds and lower fat foods do help, many foods that are called low-fat have quite a bit of calories in them. You have to watch your calorie and sugar intake as well. Don't fall into the trap of eating low-fat foods and think that you will not gain any fat because this is simply not true.

Myth: Crash diets will help you lose weight.

In some ways, this myth is true. You will lose weight. But this weight is mostly water. Crash diets don't actually burn off any fat. Most are just a few painful days of not eating that doesn't do your body any good.

If you want a diet that works, you need to add in exercise and healthy eating over the long run versus a gimmick over a few short days.

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