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A successful diet means having an educated game plan and facing some cold hard facts. To succeed, you must first accept that long-term success involves a change in lifestyle rather than a temporary diet. Once you have come to that realization, your chance of success increases dramatically. You must also realize that since you did not gain a certain number of pounds in six weeks, you cannot expect to lose those same pounds in six weeks – and keep it from coming back.
Crash and Burn
Crash diets do not work unless, of course, your goal is not long-term and lasting success. If you have a class reunion or wedding in six weeks, I can understand the rationale for crash dieting. But to lose weight, keep it off and do it in a healthy manner, you need to start long before you're faced with a "crash course".
Proper Weight Loss Strategies
Safe weight loss should consist of no more than two pounds per week. Anything more than that is likely to cause a loss in muscle. Most diets are designed and marketed for you to lose a great deal of weight initially. But most of what you lose in the early stages of a diet is water and muscle. And if you lapse back into eating salty or processed foods, the weight will come right back.
Losing muscle through dieting creates a problem that you want to avoid. Your body burns calories in order to maintain muscle, so any loss of muscle results in fewer calories being burned. This slows your metabolism, too, and once your metabolism slows, you are forced to eat less in order to lose weight. Eventually, your metabolism slows even further to conserve energy – and what it tries to conserve is body fat. Your body is now in "survival mode". At this point, any additional weight you lose will be in the form of more muscle.
Eventually, you get discouraged, give in, and start eating like you used to. But remember that you have just dramatically slowed your metabolism, even more than it was before you started to diet. You quickly regain any weight that you may have lost and, if you continue eating like you used to, you will end up weighing more than you did to start with!
Key to Success – Face the Facts
If you are serious about seeking long-term results, you need be realistic and face the facts. Don't give in! With a good, honest understanding you can succeed. Keep in mind that the slower you lose weight, the more likely you are to keep it off. The faster you lose it, the more likely you are to regain it. If you lost only 1 pound per week, that would be 52 pounds in one year.
Editor's Note: The blog's author, Natural Pro, is a Natural Drug Free WNBF Pro Bodybuilder and the reigning WNBF Master's Cup Champion, 2x INBF Amateur State Champion, INBF Amateur World Champion and ANBC Amateur National Champion. Natural Pro is also preparing for the 2010 Mr. Universe contest to be held in Barbados this June.
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Re: Losing It All and Then Leaving It All Behind
