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How to Pick a Weight Loss Program
By steveniam | March 3, 2009
It is estimated that, at any one time, as many as 40 to 50% of adults are following some form of diet, whether to lose fat, gain weight, or build muscle. These diets may be designed for overall health improvement, individual health condition needs, weight gain, or, the most prevalent, weight loss. There are thousands of weight loss programs available. The problem for a person seeking to lose weight is sorting through all the available programs to find the one that will work for them.
A person seeking a good weight loss program must wade through the pool of diets and begin to sort them, selecting a few that look good, and then using a trial approach to determine which one will be the right choice. A little knowledge, some good research, and knowing your goals and schedule will help you weed out the diets that don’t work, or won’t work for you.
Knowing what diets to quickly eliminate from your list helps save a lot of wasted time. The first group of weight loss programs in this category are the ones based on unhealthy, or worse dangerous, eating plans. Any diet that requires you to fast for extended periods, limit water, or fluid, intake, or eat only one food for extended periods, are all unhealthy options. A diet with high amounts of saturated fats, sugars, or alcohol are also dangerously unhealthy. Lastly, diets that limit, or eliminate, food intake and rely solely on water, or other fluids, will cause dangerous nutrient imbalances.
The next step is to figure out what your goal is and how a diet might fit your schedule. If you have a large amount of weight to lose you will want to set your plans for a long term process to make sure the weight loss is permanent. If you only have a small amount of weight, 10 to 15 pounds, and want to lose it quickly, then you will need to find a plan that restructures your diet quickly, but in a sustainable fashion.
Any weight loss program should be centered around learning better eating habits that you can carry forward, in some format. Retraining the way you eat is the best way for a weight loss program to ensure long term weight loss success. Some plans focus on points, or assign certain foods different values, others use their own foods to teach you portion control and nutrient partitioning, while others provide sample menus and shopping lists to help you learn to shop for and prepare foods in a healthy manner. All of these are good options for someone who needs structure.
If you work and have specific break times, your weight loss program should fit your meal and break times. Trying to fit your schedule to the diet is seldom a good choice, and often leads to a desertion of the program. If you have a lot of free time then a program that has a strict schedule will not be a problem. A diet that requires specific foods can be difficult, especially if you have a hard time finding those foods in your area, or if they are seasonal. Instead try to find a plan that offers several options each meal.
So, when looking for a weight loss program, focus on ones that teach you how to eat healthy, sustainable meals, rather than those centered on unhealthy eating practices. If a diet plan requires you to eat in a way that you can not maintain then you will not be able to sustain it for the long haul. This often leads to a rebound of the weight. Remember, find a plan that fits your schedule, not one you have to fit your schedule to. Although a weight loss program does require some sacrifice, the easier the transition is, the better success you will have.
Topics: Weight Loss Tips |
| 1 Comment »
December 23rd, 2009 at 12:48 pm
I completely agree that you have to actually enjoy your diet if you even want to have any chance of sticking with it. A lot of people get started with diets that they just cant commit to because the don’t like the food.