Want to Lose Weight? STOP DIETING!

Posted by Andrea Beaman on March 19, 2008 3:14 PM PDT

Tags: Losing Weight, Andrea Beaman, cravings, dieting, fiber, food, reward, water, weight gain, Weight Loss

Recommend this? YES NO

The first step to achieving your ideal weight is to STOP dieting! Yes, it's true. Dieting will keep you overweight and feeling deprived. Reaching an ideal weight can be painless and easy when we make simple diet and lifestyle impovements.

Some of the biggest culprits for weight gain include eating highly refined foods like sugar, flour products, snack foods (pretzels, chips, etc.). These foods are lacking vital nutrients, have little or no fiber and a high glycemic index that causes blood sugar spikes and crashes, setting you up for craving more refined foods. It's a vicious cycle.

Other diet disaster foods include anything that's labeled "fat free" or "sugar free." These foods are usually loaded with artificial sweeteners and other chemicals that the body doesn't know how to process. Chances are if it's "free" you'll be paying for it with your health.

Better quality foods to help you feel great and reach your ideal weight include whole grains, beans, fish, lean animal proteins, vegetables, fruits and nuts and seeds. You can read more about what to take out, and what to put into your diet, and how to make them taste absolutely delicious in The Whole Truth Eating and Recipe Guide. There are over 120 tasty recipes and information you need to know to help you look and feel your best.

It's important to remember that a "diet" is a temporary thing, but a lifestyle improvement can last forever. Some simple improvements you can make are:

1. Sit down to fully balanced meals. This reduces physical cravings because your body will be nutritionally satsified.

2. Drink Water! Water is the best liquid for your system. It hydrates all your cells and helps the body run more efficiently.

3. Be patient. Change doesn't happen overnight. It took time to gain the weight, and it'll take time to lose it.

4. Relax. If you are stressed about your weight your body will release the stress hormone, cortisol. When cortisol is released, digestion stops and the body stores food instead. To reduce stress, take 5-10 deep breaths before eating. This will help you relax and fully enjoy and absorb your meal.

5. Reward yourself with non-food items. Change your "reward" system. When you begin to lose weight give yourself treats other than food (massage, spa day, manicure/pedicure, facial, shopping spree). You're worth it!

Add To:

If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to our newsletter and we'll keep you updated with fresh new content.

20 Comments

I totally agree that diets don't work, and that deciding we're going to change our lifestyle habits is the best thing we can do for our health and our sanity. Thanks for the reminder!

Lynn

Posted by LynnRD on March 21, 2008 5:47 PM PDT

Great list to help lose weight. Thanks!

Posted by alex on April 29, 2008 2:56 PM PDT

This was a good article, except you did not emphasize the real factor in "really" losing weight, and that is to always be drinking water. That, in my opinion, is by far the easiest way to lose weight. You drink more water, you fill less full during meal times, and you basically eat less because of it. My recommendation: carry a water bottle around with you, the bigger, the better. Challenge yourself to drink a certain (or recommended) amount of water per day.
Also, you should have talked about eating smaller portions, but eating more than just during the 3 meal times that everyone is "suppose" to eat. The reason why most people are fat is because they starve themselves before the meal to the point that when they finally sit down and eat, they're so hungry, they eat faster (and usually more) than the amount they should have ate.

Andrea, since you have quite a few blog posts, you should link your articles together, or just go into more details about the topics discussed. =)

Posted by Anonymous on May 21, 2008 6:43 AM PDT

Thanks for the tip :)

Posted by wildracer on July 7, 2008 5:49 AM PDT

can anyone amswer me this....... what should i eat for breakfast lunh and dinner to loose wieght??????? someone help plz

Posted by Anonymous on August 5, 2008 5:12 PM PDT

I have been fasting for 10 days and i lost 12 pounds. Its how the body works. You have to learn it. duh, dieting doesnt work. i suggest you guys have a chat with an anorexic(i am one) I know its bad, but they have so much of knowledge on calories and food, you'll learn something. Just dont turn anorexic. Its hell on earth

Posted by Anonymous on August 7, 2008 10:25 AM PDT

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The above comment is stupid for about 5 reasons. Can you spot them?

Posted by Anonymous on August 7, 2008 11:25 AM PDT

thanks! you made my day! :)

Posted by Anonymous on September 21, 2008 6:37 AM PDT

I recently have lost my appetite and have lost quite a bit of weight. I am down to 121 pounds and really should be at about 140 for my height. I have been trying to eat a lot of fattening stuff such as candy and ice cream and pizza but am still lowing weight. I had been on a pretty much vegetarian diet for the last several years.

However, I guess I would rather have this problem than that of most of the population. I guess we all have our problems.

Posted by Anonymous on September 25, 2008 7:20 PM PDT

This excellent advice is fleshed out in a book I give to all my patients for weight loss (not a book I wrote - sorry.) Amazon review here...

http://www.amazon.com/review/RZ755ZQXILS4X/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

Posted by DrMartinRussell on November 3, 2008 3:29 PM PST

Yes! Yes! Yes! Wise advice that echoes everything I've tried to tell my familly about dieting! A little common sense goes a long way!

Posted by thegrey on November 13, 2008 7:51 PM PST

I did find this blog helpful, however, I don't believe it will make me get rid of my atkins diet that I am currently on. I drink all my water that I am supposed to have everyday, but I can't seem to want to stick to a diet where you are supposed to eat the good stuff that you mentioned. I find it to be very expensive. I would recommend this blog to someone who wants to lose weight the right way, unlike me, and who isn't broke so they can afford the food.

Posted by josielynntaylor on November 14, 2008 3:56 PM PST

You are right on with your non-dieting advice. When people ate real home cooked food, not processed, not sugar-free, not fat-free, obesity was barely an issue. The only thing missing in this post is the "go outside and play" mantra that kept us fit as youngsters of yesteryear.

Posted by Lynn :) on November 14, 2008 5:38 PM PST

Great advice. The best thing I have learned from experience is not to diet when trying to lose weight. For awhile when I was dieting, I actually picked up a couple pounds. Sometimes when focusing too hard on your diet, you actually slip up. I am not a water fan but now that I am dieting again, I will give it a try and see what happens. You forgot to mention getting some exercise. I know it's common sense but there are those who think it's all about eating correctly and nothing more. In order to lose fat off your butt, you gotta eat right and get up and move your butt around!

Posted by adamnsarahsmall on November 18, 2008 3:51 PM PST

good common sense advice.

Posted by ysomogyi on November 19, 2008 9:11 AM PST

I agree that diets are only short-term solutions. I mean, how long can you seriously live on Slim-fast? Are you planning to eat grapefruit for the rest of your life?

Learning to eat healthy in moderation is probably a lot better for you and will help maintain a nice weight. Of course, all that is easier said than done - after an ice cream binge at my local creamery, I always feel like I should only drink chicken broth the next day to "offset" the calories I took in.

Posted by monogloop on November 19, 2008 5:37 PM PST

That all sounds great, but how do you do all of that with little or no time? It seems really time consuming

Posted by sfleming on November 21, 2008 3:43 PM PST

I think you are right that "diets" don't work - but the key is not necessarily giving up all refined foods either. We need to figure out how to eat healthy in this over-processed world for sure. You didn't mention added fiber and that is a good tip too, increasing your fruits and veggies and whole grains will increase your fiber intake naturally, but you can also use high fiber cereals on days you don't get enough through other means. Add fiber to balanced meals & extra water and then get your body moving!

Posted by triplecrown on November 22, 2008 8:55 AM PST

Great blog. It is exactly what I believe, and know to be a fact. Dieting doesn't work. Lifestyle changes do. People would be amazed at how easy it could be to maintain a healthy weight with just a few lifestyle changes. Healthy food can be good, and good food can be healthy. And people need to not be so hard on themselves if they do indulge in occasional bad foods. Deprivation never really helped anybody!

Posted by wiggle_worm7 on November 22, 2008 9:20 AM PST

Great ideas. I have done almost every diet in the book and I definitely do not like to do it. Sometimes, it was necessary (like wedding), but I feel like so many people diet unhealthily. Your advices show that the health is the most important aspect of dieting, so I really like your advices. I love food, but I think you're right about rewarding yourself with non-food items. Thanks!