I'm Such A Loser

Image via WikipediaI have been a regular customer at a certain pub here. When it closed last year, I became a "nomad" searching for a new watering hole to call "home".

Recently a friend told me the guys there had opened a new place at a different location, and I headed there.

When the guys saw me (after 1 year) they commented "Wow you lost so much weight! You look fighting fit and trim now!".

Ok that's nothing much new there since I have shared similar comments from people who've seen me after an absence of a few weeks.

Now the interesting thing is that while they might have commented on how slim I am right now, they also mentioned that they have tried in vain to "lose weight and keep it off". From what they tell me, everybody had the same "flaw".

They all "went on a diet and an exercise regime".

The problem is, when you keep thinking that it's a diet and exercise routine to get rid of your "excess baggage", you're expecting it to be temporary. Whatever "diet" you're on will not be a permanent feature. Whatever exercises you do to "get rid of the flab" will never become part of your lifestyle.

The moment you achieve the desired results, you stop. Once you stop, it all comes back. You go back to eating your unhealthy mix of foods. You go back to lazing around.

The trick is to change your diet permanently. Don't just "go on a diet". Change it. Pretty soon, once you've gotten used to your new, healthier, more balanced eating habits, you'll find you no longer eat cakes, candies, sweets, ice cream etc as often as before. Even when you DO "binge" on the odd occasion that calls for it, it will "impact harmlessly against your metabolic shield". Ok that's not quite true in that you have a "shield" but when you do work out, your metabolism increases naturally. When you do "pig out" on junk food and desserts, they won't immediately collect as fats. Chances are they'll be burnt off by your metabolism.

I sometimes spend a whole WEEKEND eating junk food, ice cream, and fatty foods. I still don't "put it on" immediately. The body has already become accustomed to burning whatever comes in as fuel.

But, changing your diet is only the first step. The second step is to have regular exercise. You need to condition your body to always burn the calories that come in. Sitting around just eating healthy doesn't really do the trick. Some people might achieve "weight loss" by just changing their diets (especially true for women who go on "crash diets") but even if they do, it'll be just temporary. I have a few female friends who always try a new fad diet. After a few weeks, they'll be slim and sexy. A month or so later, they're back where they were (not "fat" but "not slim"), simply because they stopped their "crash diets", and they never coupled it with exercise.

So, forget pills that promise you they'll absorb the fats in your food. Forget the pills that tell you they'll increase your metabolic rate. You can do it all FOR FREE. Just work out and eat right, permanently.

Labels: diet, Weightloss