Copyright 2006 Adam Waxler
How much weight do you want to lose? Are you being realistic
about how long it will take to achieve your weight loss goal?
When someone has decided to lose weight, one of the first things
that person should do is set a goal weight or an ideal weight.
Unfortunately, when most people decide to lose weight, they are
not being realistic about how much weight to lose and how long
it will take them to lose that weight. For many, their 'ideal
weight' may be the wrong weight for them to be aiming for
The sad fact is, years of being overweight and jumping from one
fad diet to another may have confused your mind and body about
what is truly your ideal weight. One of the major problems comes
from a lack of understanding about metabolism. If you've been
overweight for a very long time, or if you've consistently
'yo-yoed', your body may respond to your initial weight loss by
slowing down its metabolism because it believes that you are
starving to death. This slowing down of your metabolism leads to
discouraging plateaus that often knock people off their diets
entirely, and lead to regaining all or part of the lost weight.
Many weight loss experts today recommend aiming for
shorter-term, more attainable weight loss goals. Since the bulk
of diet research shows that most dieters lose weight steadily
for about 12 weeks, then hit a plateau, that's the number of
weeks that the weight loss experts suggest you should aim for.
The weight loss strategy that many have found works best for
them is one of alternating periods of weight loss and
maintenance, each lasting 8-12 weeks.
The strategy calls for choosing a realistic weight loss goal for
an 8-12 week period. Knowing that the most reasonable and
healthiest weight loss rate is 1-2 pounds per week, losing 25
pounds in three months is not unrealistic. You should be on your
weight loss diet until you reach that goal, or for 12 weeks,
whichever comes first, and then switch to a maintenance diet.
Why switch to a maintenance diet at that point?
Simple, you're giving yourself a break from more restrictive
eating. More importantly though, you are re-educating your body
and letting it establish a new starting point. Once you've
maintained your new weight for 8-12 weeks, set another weight
loss goal, and move back into weight loss mode. By giving your
body a break from 'starvation', you'll have overcome its
resistance to weight loss.
You'll also be giving yourself a chance to 'practice'
maintaining your new, healthier weight. Researchers have found
that more than half of the dieters who take off significant
amounts of weight do not maintain that weight loss once they go
'off' their diet. By practicing weight maintenance in stages,
you'll be proving to yourself that you can lose weight and
maintain that weight loss over a period of time.
This weight loss plan will work with any long-term weight loss
diet. You'll find dieting and reaching your weight loss goal
much easier to do if you choose a diet that has concrete
'phases', such as the South Beach or the Atkins diet, since the
weight loss and maintenance phases are clearly laid out for you
to follow. Regardless of the diet you choose, though, by
alternating between weight loss phases and maintenance phases,
you'll teach yourself and your body how to maintain a healthy
weight.
About the author:
Adam Waxler publishes the Weight-Loss-Machine...a free weight
loss newsletter. Sign up for your free subscription and receive
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