MAINTAINING
WEIGHT LOSS
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Avoiding
Weight Ups And Downs
Many people have had the experience of successfully
depriving themselves long enough to lose weight. It is a
heady experience until the scale shows that you have
gained five pounds overnight even though you feel you
have eaten sparingly. Such are the woes of the chronic
dieter, but help is on the way to smooth these peaks and
valleys.
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How To
Successfully Diet
"Dieting," actually, is not the proper way
to describe weight management. How to change your food
habits and still love food that is good for you is more
accurate. The diet you choose to follow the rest of your
life needs to be balanced, varied, and likable. You
calmly choose foods that are nutritious most of the time
and don't feel great guilt over consuming foods that you
don't consider "diet" foods. Because you can
have such foods you won't overindulge. You avoid thinking
about food all the time by finding enjoyments outside of
food. Worrying over the next meal, what will be served at
the party and other food obsessions only makes you
hungry. It makes you a restrained eater-one who tries to
stay in tight control and fears "losing it".
Worrying so much over food takes its enjoyment away. If
you have followed the diet over time to slowly lose
weight, it is second nature by now. You didn't lose
weight rapidly and so weight changes will be minimized.
Don't weigh yourself daily; once a week is plenty to
check your progress.
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Exercise
Tips
Exercise is the only way to get your body stoked to
burn more calories. As you exercise, you will convert fat
cells to muscle and that alone will burn many more
calories. Your metabolism will burn faster up to 24 hours
after an exercise session. Exercise is for life too, so
start slow, select activities that you really enjoy and
stick with it. Remember, though, that the scale will
appear to play "tricks" on you as you exercise
more. As you convert fat to muscle the body can actually
gain weight, since muscle weighs more than fat.
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Up With
Attitude
You can see that the diet and exercise plans are as
much of an attitude as they are an activity. You need to
love and accept yourself and praise yourself for your
progress. It will take time to make a philosophical
overhaul. You also need to consider the fact that you may
have an unrealistic idea of what you should weigh.
Chasing that last 5 pounds the rest of your life may not
be worth it. For times of the year when you see your
weight normally increase, like the holidays, you may need
to make some slight adjustments. This does not mean
dieting in January. Overeating one day and undereating
another is all a part of the normal eating experience.
Trust yourself to balance it out by following your
appetite.
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