Friday, October 31, 2008

Lose your Tummy - Putting the Trendy Diets on Ice

By Teresa Brown

One of the contributing causes to the rising obesity epidemic in the western world is that technology has given rise to a culture of convenience and inactive lifestyles. This has a strong influence on what we eat and live and by what means we will take to lose the tummy. It makes sense then why we eat fast food and lose the weight with fad diets, because it's the quick and easy.

For everyone who has been on a diet to lose their tummy, it's clear that they don't work because you end up going on another diet in the near future. It's no wonder that in the US the diet industry is a booming multi billion-dollar industry. The reality is that managing a healthy lifestyle and a healthy weight is an on-going activity that requires patience, unwavering dedication, training and self-awareness. The sad reality is that most of us don't take the long and steady road to wellness and opt for the short road to nowhere.

Unlike a healthy diet that consists of a balanced nutrition with a variety of foods, the typical diet is grossly skewed nutritionally because it either restricts or over emphasizes a particular food or mixture of foods. The following diets only undermine your ability to lose your tummy because you usually end up with fleeting results at a cost to your health.

Anti-Carb Diets

Diets low in carbohydrates such as Protein Power do not function as a lifelong diet because they are difficult to maintain and nutritionally unbalanced. Life is unpredictable and planning your life around your diet can make your life more stressful for you, your friends and family. Not to mention that because your body is working on low "natural" energy you are more susceptible to fatigue, insomnia and headaches.

Carbohydrates are essential for our body functions. The problem is that we are eating too much of the highly refined (high glycemic) carbs found in foods such as white potatoes, quick breads, and sugars in baked goods and too little of the low glycemic carbs such as whole grains. Low-carb diets may help you to lose your tummy and keep weight off for up to a year but it's unrealistic and unhealthy to maintain for an entire lifetime.

Low Fat Diets

A non-fat diet is essentially a high carb diet. Depending on the carbohydrate you are eating, a non-fat diet can result in health problems such as Type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. In addition, many of so called "fat-free" or "reduced fat" foods contain high amounts of sugar (such as high fructose corn syrup), which is converted by the body into fat. Be aware that many low fat foods are high in calories and hum-bug your efforts to lose your tummy.

Not all dietary fats are bad for you. You need to focus on ensuring that your diet gets more of the good unsaturated fats and much less of the saturated and trans fats. Fats provide fuel for our cells but they also contribute to our body's normal functionality on the cellular and biochemical levels.

If you want to lose your tummy for good, then going on a diet is the wrong way to go about it. Not only will you gain back the weight you lost but it will also put your health at risk and your self-esteem, motivation and desire to succeed in jeopardy. Be responsible for your health. It means making food choices that are not detrimental to your health, and getting more physically active. Make the right choice and never look back at weight again. - 15995

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