I don't know how many "experts" I have heard say "The
only way to lose weight is to eat less and exercise more"
(yawn). While this may be technically true, it simply does NOT
tell the whole story. Why then, when you go on a crash diet, do
you not always lose weight? (hint - because your metabolism shuts
down - your body thinks it is starving).
And why do people eat differently (often less) on vacation when
they are more relaxed and not driven by the ever increasing responsibilities,
stress and demands of work?
This advice simply doesn't speak to the internal dialogue that
goes on in our minds, or the rebound effect of the diet/deprivation
cycle which leads to binging. Therefore, to me, it is uninspired
and unhelpful. But when the "experts" tell us to eat
less and exercise more, the first thing we think of is dieting.
Being on a diet, to me, is like throwing yourself into a washing
machine. It spins you in circles and wrings you out. Diets may
tell you WHAT to do, but they don't teach you HOW to eat less
and exercise more. They create dependency. When you can't figure
out how to maintain the weight loss without the diet, it's easy
to feel frustrated, even helpless.
I don't know about you, but I don't care to become another diet
statistic (95% of people who lose weight by dieting gain it all
back or more within 2 years).
