Tired of Spending Money on Diet Pills, Programs, and Gimmicks?

Are Bananas Much Better Than Cookies? Foods That Keep You Full and Prevent an Energy Crash:

I came across this in my Google Reader and I thought I should share it. Every day I see a new commercial for a workout system, diet pill (drink, food, candy bar...), or diet plan. You know what I'm talking about, and if you've tried them, or those around you have, you're familiar with how they work out: Sometimes you loose some weight, but then you gain it back almost immediately; more often you simply don't bother to do the work. You end up "cheating" so much it's not even cheating anymore, you're just binge eating. We wonder why diets don't work, and the answer is there, swatting you in the face, but the commercial weight-loss industry has everyone believing they need a pill to loose a pound (or fifty).

You want the secret to loosing some weight, and then keeping it off? I'll tell you, I'll tell you 100% of it and I won't charge you a dime, I won't ask for your E-mail, and this post is certainly not a limited-time offer just for you and the first 23 others who get exclusive VIP access. No. Read on and I'll do my best to explain how to loose weight in a healthful way, that won't have long-term health implications that may yet be unknown because of the lack of any quality studies performed on the safety of diet pills and supplements.

Ritalin (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There are also no guarantees, express, implied, or otherwise and I do not maintain the information fit for marketing, merchantability, or otherwise. I'm not a doctor or a nutritionist and of course you should ALWAYS consult your doctor before beginning any new diet regiment, or exercise plan if your body or health is in a compromised condition. I'm not selling anything, and you should know that according to the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) only a "Drug" can cure, prevent, or treat any disease, and Obesity is considered a disease.

Now that nobody can sue me, or arrest me, I'll get straight to the point. It's important to note that diet pills really aren't going to do much for you, at lease probably not much good. I'm not talking specifically about appetite suppressants, but the pills you see advertised that let you eat whatever you want, whenever you want, and you don't even have to exercise. Your stomach is really only as big as both your fists, well, it's supposed to be. However most of us have become so gluttonous our stomachs have been stretched by our over-stuffing.

The problem is, or body can only process so much food at one time and actually make use of the energy and nutrient effectively. It's fairly common-knowledge that excess energy is basically stored as fat if it's not used. So no matter how many pills you pop, you body only needs some of that food and the rest is passing through your body compacting in your colon, sitting as sludge in your stomach, doing everything but what you need, or want it to do, which is fill you up and keep you full and energized for a generous portion of the day.

"But I have to eat!" Yes, you do, but you don't have to fill your stomach to maximum compacity to feel full. You simply have to eat the right foods, know how to answer your food cravings (because they're not really what you think they are), and for the sake of your health it should not take you 5 minutes to finish a plate of food. There is something to be said for savoring your meal, take smaller bites, enjoy the flavors, actually taste it. When you wolf down your food, you didn't get a chance to enjoy it, you almost don't remember what you ate, or how much (which is really the important bit). When you slow down and enjoy your food, you give your body and brain time to actually process what you've eaten, and how much.

Your brain, on a sub-conscious level, knows what it gets from the various foods we consume, and it knows how it uses those things to maintain our body and health. There is a reason you crave your favorite candy bar, and it's not your brain saying it wants candy, but it is sending a message. Your brain is saying "Your body needs sugar." But not just any kind of sugar, it wants complex sugars the kind you find in apples and oranges and other fruits. Keep a fruit bowl on the counter or in the refrigerator, oranges and apples both have a high satiety factor as well as a low glycemic index (complex sugar in action!)  meaning they actually make you feel full and sustain your energy longer. So next time you're craving a candy bar, or considering desert when you're out, grab an apple from the fruit bowl (or order a side of fruit instead of that slice of pie, you won't regret it). The idea is it satisfy your cravings for unhealthy things, with things that are actually good for you, and if you're unsure the answer is only a Google search away.

So, ready to "diet?" It's as simple following the link above (to a Lifehacker post that inspired my own) and taking a peak (don't just peak, study it, and print it out and hang it on your fridge, or cupboard, or pantry door, where you'll look it often) at the Satiety Chart. Eat foods closer to the upper right hand corner, you'll feel fuller faster (no appetite suppressor pills!), and you'll go longer before you're hungry again, and the chances of a sugar crash: Almost None.

Pandemic of Lifestyle Diseases (Photo credit: colros)

But this isn't as simple as eating better (though I promise you're not going to lose weight eating garbage), no matter what pill you take, not matter what you eat, you're not going to lose a single dress size if you don't actually do some work. You don't have to get a gym membership, in fact a gym membership is actually fairly useless for losing weight. Why? Studies have shown that walking, jogging, or running 17 miles or more a week burns more visceral body fat (AKA stomach fat, and it's linked to heart disease and other cardiovascular health issues) than lifting weights alone. But they have treadmills at the gym, don't they? Well, yes, but like it or not it's easier to run on a treadmill (it actually does a bit of the work for you) than on the road or a track. Find your favorite park or place with a nice circuit path. As a park ranger or manager how long it is around, or you can use a tool like MapMyRun to find the approximate distance, then make a commitment, start off with just a mile, maybe two, or more depending on your fitness level and work up to 17+ miles a week. You'll notice weight loss soon, perhaps even the first week. Keep in mind that there are at least 20 pouds (yeah you read that right, 20, t-w-e-n-t-y pounds) between each dress size, so don't go shopping for new skinny jeans tomorrow. Your goal should be to get healthy not to get thin, though getting thin will certainly be a pleasant side-effect of getting healthy.

One last thing, abs, everyone wants abs, there's just one, tiny little problem: Stomach Fat. You can do crunches until you just can't crunch anymore, and you're not going to have abs. The secret that the 20 minute ab workout commercial didn't tell you while they were pitching you a sales line last night is actually in the paragraph immediately preceding this one. A layer of belly fat over your abs, no matter how thin, can prevent your abs from showing. Relax your stomach, pinch, fat. Don't panic, or stick your finger down your throat or starve yourself though. Keep walking, keep eating right, and certainly keep doing some crunches (they're especially beneficial to women's health, for many more reasons than just developing washboard abs) eventually you'll start to notice some definition showing, usually starting with the upper abdominals and moving down as your body burns off that visceral body fat (the stuff that causes heart disease). Keep in mind also that a little body fat is actually good for you, and healthy, and necessary to keep you healthy. How much is too much, or too little? Ask your doctor.

Your body needs rest too, so sleep at least 8 hours a night and you should probably walk no more than 4-6 times a week, or less again depending on your fitness level and the condition of your health. Talk to your doctor about what is a healthy level of activity. Your body does need some time off, building muscle and increasing endurance means micro-tears in your muscle tissue, as the tissue is repaired it build more, and more, as time goes on. Your muscles don't heal themselves though, they need rest and fuel, healthy fuel.

There are no secret drugs to lose weight, no magic workouts, nothing that is going to magically make you drop 50 pounds and 3 dress sizes in under 60 days that you will actually keep off. You can eat healthy though, avoid junk like soda (drink water, lots of water, your body is 98% water, you always need water), or candy bars. Drink some juice if you must (Careful though, it's not as healthy as you think!), but keep the Coke in the bathroom, it'll make your toilet shine.

'via Blog this'