Did you know that dieting can actually make you fat?

There have been a number of people who were slightly over weight by perhaps twenty to thirty pounds; staying at about the same weight for years, until they decide to go on a diet.

Like most dieters, they plunged headfirst into a diet, denying themselves their favorite foods. They ate things they really didn't like, only to end up quitting and eating more than they did before they went on the diet.

The results of dieting caused them to gain five pounds or more than they were already carrying. Then they decide again to diet, going into it with even more determination than before.

Setting even stricter guidelines for themselves, they usually suffer for a few weeks before giving up again, binging and gaining another five pounds or more. Thn they end up carrying close to ten pounds more than when they first started.

It turns into a nightmare as they continue the cycle of dieting, suffering, giving up, gaining more weight until they're terribly obese, spending money on dieting fads and programs that don't work.

Before they decided to diet in the first place, they were twenty, thirty pounds lighter and would have been better off if they had never started dieting.

Common sense dictates a more practical approach to losing weight which is to simply cut back a little. Nothing drastic. While it's true that we should eat healthy foods, a junk food junkie can suffer withdrawal similar to a drug addict. Healthier foods can be incorporated into your diet slowly.

At first, eat what you always eat but simply reduce the portions. For instance: If you usually have two donuts with your morning coffee, cut back to one donut. If you have a burger, fries and soda for lunch, don't eat all of it. Leave a third of it. This approach will be easier to adjust to and likely as not, you will stick to it until it becomes natural.

Then you can slightly reduce those portions until you're down to eating half as much as before. Once you have adjusted to the portions, you can begin making healthier food choices such as a grilled chicken sandwich, fruit and water for lunch rather than a burger and fries. By then, it won't be such a challenge.

Cutting back in this way will give your body ample time to adjust without suffering the effects of extreme dieting such as shaking and weakness. Results won't happen overnight. It will take several months, but your chances of success will be far greater.

Learn more about this author, Pat Lunsford.
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