My Experience with Diets

My goal weight has changed dramatically throughout the years.  When I weighed 160 pounds my goal was 150 pounds and when I reached my goal of 150 pounds my new goal was 140 pounds.  Now that I’m at 140 pounds my new goal is 135 pounds.  It is common among people to want more after reaching their goal.  In my opinion that is fine but acknowledge that you are making an improvement.   I was always in sports as a child and even some in college but now I go to school full time and work full time so I’m limited on how much I can work out.  The difference between me and a lot of people is that I enjoy working out, it’s my hobby.  My down fall was my diet.

Most diets deprive people from many food products and sometimes taking an entire food group out.  This is unhealthy and leads to a diet failure and becomes unrealistic for the long run.  Many people think diets are temporary but realistically they should become a lifestyle.  Unlike me when some people reach their goal they stop their diet and inevitably gain all the weight they lost.  This is why strict diets fail.  Depending on your diet it can get expensive.  If you’ve ever shopped at Trader Joe’s or at any Farmers Market you’d understand.  People think that diets can lower your metabolism but that can only happen if you cut back dramatically on calories and only eat a few times throughout your day.  When you take away food from your body it will hold on to the food you consume and you will not burn the calories.  Similar to starving your body and if you do this then it will slow down your metabolism.

The diet that presented the best result was when I changed my entire lifestyle.  I quit drinking alcohol on a regular basis and quit smoking.  That was the biggest change in my lifestyle.  I continued working out 6 days a week and the weight dropped instantly.  Within a few weeks I lost 10 pounds.  My diet didn’t change because I was always cautious of my calorie intake.  I ate 5-6 times a day (small meals) and after every work out I had a protein shake or bar.  My BMI was approximately 2,300 calories therefore I consumed less than 2,000 calories to lose weight.

A mistake that many people do is cutting out junk food completely.  You don’t need to cut out junk food but you do need to eat it in moderation.  If you are craving chocolate, you should have some chocolate!  This does not mean have the whole candy bar, have a couple of pieces as a treat.  Lastly, when I work out I do activities that I enjoy.  I love to weight train with my husband and I enjoy fun cardio.  Fun cardio to me are things such as hiking, swimming, biking, and playing different sports.  Not only am I burning calories but I am spending quality time with my husband and having fun.