Diet Secrets to Help You Reach Your Goals

One of the biggest diet secrets of all is the one right in front of you.  It’s the one we’ve always known but that has looked so straightforward that we’ve ignored it. A permanent change in food selection habits is required to sustain a lower body weight. Most diets do not address long-term maintenance and are therefore eventually futile. Success in long-term weight reduction is strategic and not a matter of willpower.

Among the reasons the obvious can look like it’s actually one of the top diet secrets is that there are so many other options out there that the old standard doesn’t seem like it could possibly stand up. Many schemes have been used to motivate people to lose weight. We have reviewed almost every idea in the business. The sad part of the weight-loss story is that so many people have been deceived by promises of easy changes that can never be kept. So many have responded to perky advisors who use bright, cheerful optimism to motivate their paying clients, only to crash again. 

Don’t let big unfounded promises keep you from success. Remember that the biggest diet secrets have to do with using common sense. The "hype" of a new diet usually lasts a short time. Old habits, and the pre-programmed tendencies of the appetite control system are enduring. There is in other words, a dark side to the story of weight-gain. If you use optimistic promises as a form of denial, your efforts tend to fail. If you believe that weight loss is easy and quick, you are denying the well-known truth that most people fail to maintain their weight loss. 

Weight Loss Allies:

1. Healthy food
2. Tolerance for hunger
3. Physical exercise

Diet Secret #1

Most weight loss dieters experience increased efficiency, as calories are restricted. In healthy experimental subjects, a daily deficit of 1500 calories produced a maximum weight loss of 25% at 24 weeks, when a new equilibrium was established. No significant weight loss may be seen in a sedentary obese person until energy intake has dropped below 800 calories. The quality of food choice at this restricted level of intake is crucial. Fat, sugar, and high protein are definitely avoided. Sugar in excess is converted directly to fat. High sugar foods are addictive and maintain cravings for more sugar. Diets that depend on fruit and fruit juices, high in sugar are not desirable for weight reduction. 

Diet Secret #2

Weight loss is directly equated to exercise; not food deprivation. The jogger or swimmer is losing weight. Even the walker is losing weight, although more slowly. Hunger must be restored as a normal, welcome feeling. There is nothing wrong with hunger! In order to establish new healthy eating patterns, it is essential to practice being comfortably hungry for periods as long as 4-6 hours before eating. A normal rhythm might be 4 hours between meals. The less you move, the longer you should stay hungry; another way of looking at weight loss. Of course, weight gain is a feature of a sedentary lifestyle and the problem is that everyday you move too little and eat too much you are gaining weight. 

Diet Secret #3

The choice of food by its quality and impact on eating behaviours is initially more important than the choice by quantity or caloric content. Diets that emphasize changes in the proportions of protein, fat, carbohydrate, fibre, and so on do not have special properties for weight control. The proportions recommended in our weight loss program tend to work very well, but only if the food choices are correct. Vegetables foods have the most to offer a weight loss program since they have low nutrient density (you can eat a lot more) and seldom trigger cravings and compulsive eating. 

Diet Secret #4

The timing of meals is relevant to regulating eating behaviour. More food should be eaten earlier in the day. Compulsive eating is often more difficult to control at night. It is often necessary to restructure evening activities; start new and physical activities instead of sitting all evening. Avoid alcoholic beverages. The social context of drinking alcoholic beverages is seldom conducive to selective eating and impulse control.

Diet Secret #5

Eat Foods with a High Nutrient Density. A key concept in weight management is that appetite and weight regulation is largely determined by the adequacy of the incoming nutrient set. A low nutrient to calorie ratio means you will eat more and gain weight. Remember your appetite control system does not like starvation. Low nutrient density means starvation.

• Solid optimism comes from using the right techniques and getting the right results.
• Realistic motivation begins with knowing that it is not easy to change even when the change is beneficial. You do need help.
• You need the right information. You need to understand how you got to be overweight.
• You need a map to guide you to the next state you wish to occupy. You need the right tools.
• When difficulties arise, you need problem-solving methods and you need to persevere.
• All worthwhile endeavours require commitment, dedication, and perseverance. 

To lose weight you must exercise! The energy cost of physical activity must exceed the energy supplied by your food intake. Remember that weight loss is directly equated to physical exercise, not food deprivation.

When it all comes down to it, the biggest diet secrets have no mystery to them at all.  Live a healthy lifestyle as you’ve always been told to do. Eat nutrient dense foods in appropriate amounts.  Exercise regularly.  Get your sleep. Work on your stress and take great care of yourself.  Your body will reward you for making such important efforts each day.