The diet wars continue with new spins on what works and what doesn’t coming out every week.  Which diet’s work?  Which one’s promise quick painless lasting results?  The answer is all of them and none of them.  Confused?  It’s not surprising. 

Anyone who has participated in one diet or another knows that the hope and promise of weight loss starts out greater than the undeniable impending deprivation to come.  Yet, we think, if we can just stick to the plan for a few weeks or months the reward will be  pounds shed, improved self esteem, and the feeling of accomplishment. 

Unfortunately for most, the elation is short lived.  All diets work in the short run.  It is maintaining the loss that usually ends in failure.  Why?  Because most diet programs are not designed to teach lasting healthy eating habits and lifestyle changes.  Some are so calorie restricted that normal metabolism is reduced, muscle mass is lost and the consequent calorie burning ability is compromised.  In many cases the program is not sustainable over a lifetime so when the goal weight is reached or it gets unbearable you quit.  This is the reason diet programs continue to make billions of dollars annually.  People join, lose weight, go off and gain the weight back, often with a few extra pounds on top of the original.  Then, because it worked before, they join again, lose weight again and eventually lose interest or go back to their usual patterns.  So, the cycle continues.  Companies know this and count on it.

When all the new fangled diets have lost their appeal and you really want to get down to business and lose the weight and keep it off, lifestyle changes have to be implemented and adhered to for the rest of your life.  It doesn’t have to be a painful transition though. 

Let me be the first to say that I believe in moderation, not deprivation so I don’t subscribe to drastic measures.  The key is to replace the calorie dense foods in the diet with more calorie dilute ones.  This simply means eating more fruits, veggies, salads, and whole grains and eliminating processed, sugary, salty, convenience foods and most white starchy foods such as white bread, rice, and pasta.  These changes accomplish several goals.  First, you will automatically be eating low carb, you get to eat until you are full.....what a concept, you increase your fiber and nutrient intake and ultimately reduce calories without constantly feeling deprived.  Believe it or not, it is actually cheaper to eat this way.