Change The Way You Think About Dieting

I am always trying to find good information about dieting and losing
weight in the stomach. It's kind of hard for those of us that have to
deal with our waist being wider than our hips. Trying to avoid some of my
favorite foods is hard to do too. But, I found this article and liked the
message and so I am posting it here.

Why is it that merely saying the "D" word, you know "diet" brings immediate
thoughts of failure to the minds of many men and women around the world?
Could it be that we have all learned through trial and error that diets
simply do not work? I know many of you are sitting back with jaws dropped at
the moment. After all, this is an article about dieting, right? It is and it
isn't. Dieting is the kiss of death for many while a new phase in your life
or lifestyle adjustment may be just the thing that will mean success for you
and your fitness and health goals.

Eating for some is an addiction. Unfortunately, you can't exactly give up
eating all together as a smoker can give up cigarettes. I'm not applying by
any means that giving up cigarettes is easy but how much more difficult
would it be if you were forced to have three a day? At that point you may as
well enjoy them every time the urge hits right? The same holds true for
food. You must eat in order to survive. You cannot live without eating. This
means that if food is a problem in your life, you must find a healthier way
of viewing food.

Isn't this where diets generally come in handy? The short answer is no. This
is where diets often fail. Diets do very little to change how we view food.
In fact, most diets only serve to tell us which foods are good, which foods
are bad, and which foods (typically most of the foods we enjoy most) are
strictly taboo. Diets begin by forcing people to feel deprived or punished.
And no one likes to feel either of these things.

Even worse however, is that we punish ourselves further when we slip along
the straight and very narrow pathways upon which our diets place us. This
means that we are going to wallow in guilt over every little misstep we make
until we give up all together and decide to over indulge once again and
ignore the guilt all together.

In order to have real success you must make a lifestyle change. This is the
only way that you will be able to shed those unwanted pounds without
experiencing the horrible guilt that so many dieters go through each and
every step of the way with their diets. Set goals for yourself. Keep them
aggressive but realistic for fitness, dropping pounds, and eating new
healthy foods. Even if your goal is as simple as eating 5 vegetable
servings a day it is a great place to start.

Change your way of eating. Then change your way of seeing food and you will
experience amazing changes in your attitudes toward your health, your body,
and even your fitness level. As the first pounds begin to drop you will
begin to experience more energy and less pain when exercising. This should
help keep you motivated to do even more as time goes by.

Do not think that long term weight loss goals will be as easy to achieve as
the first five or ten pounds. Consistency is vitally important when making
these lifestyle changes. Take each day as it comes and begin again the very
next day. This means that even if you fall completely "off the wagon" today,
you can start over tomorrow. The trick is in staying the course more days
than not and learning moderation and balance when it comes to straying from
the straight and narrow.
There are many ways to fail when it comes to dieting and I know people who
have failed in almost every one I can possibly imagine. There is no way to
fail, however, when you are making positive changes in your life that are
getting positive results. It may take weeks, months, or even years to reach
your goal. As long as you are making steady and continuous efforts and
progress, you are doing many great things for your health and well being.

I hope you got some real encouragement from this in your quest to lose 10 pounds or more.