by Michelle Wilkinson

Created on: September 21, 2009

You don't have to go on a diet to lose weight since most diets won't help you to achieve your weight-loss objectives anyway. Most diets involve cutting calories dramatically and are designed to be followed for a short period of time, so that little is consideration given to how you will manage once you come off your diet. Diets are basically there to help you shift a lot of weight quickly, even if it is only water and muscle mass that you are losing. You might convince yourself that a particular diet has worked for you, but before long you go back to your familiar old eating patterns and if they involved eating too much junk food then you're no better off than when you started.

It might be rather annoying to hear doctors and weight-loss experts constantly state that the best way to lose weight and maintain a lower weight is to adopt lifestyle changes which can realistically be followed, but this really is the best way. Accepting this fact doesn't make it any easier to shift the weight, though, as you still need to implement changes to your routine and to get to grips with the notion that your main aim is to control your weight rather than allowing it to continually fluctuate.

When you've got into the habit of alternating between eating large quantities of food at all times of day and then virtually starving yourself for weeks at a time it can be hard to adapt to thinking of your weight within the context of a lifetime of weight management. If you're trying to lose weight sensibly then you have to accept that you're not going to see your weight drop dramatically, but then by the same measure neither will you gain large amounts of weight in a short space of time.

Really, you have to get your head around a new way of doing things. It is all well and good knowing that you ought to adopt small lifestyle changes that will soon add up to something more substantial, but actually implementing change and getting into the habit of doing things differently can be more of a challenge.

Ultimately, everyone knows that weight loss is dependent on reducing your calorie intake while increasing the number of calories you burn, which most people can do if only for a couple of weeks. What people seem to find more difficult is establishing a healthier routine they can follow for longer periods of time. Eating too little followed by a 'reward' of eating too much seems easier than living a lifetime of moderation for some people. However, moderation is better than deprivation, and means you can eat what you want even when you're actively trying to lose weight, as long as you take into consideration the quantity of what you eat. You might want to overindulge, but choosing not to will save you the worry and guilt of putting on weight.

You need to eat foods that you like, while keeping an eye on the calorie content, as if you just eat something because it is 'good for you' and don't enjoy it you will probably end up grazing on less healthy foods. You also need to find some form of physical activity you enjoy doing, as exercise is an important part of sustainable weight loss. If you manage to get into the right mindset and find the right balance between eating well and exercising, without becoming preoccupied with how many pounds you are able to lose in a week, then you're on the right track to successful weight loss.

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