Diet and Exercise

Diet and exercise is always a sensible thing to do. Unfortunately, most of us don't have a clue as to what constitutes a healthy diet and exercise plan. Everyone is more interested in a quick fix and then surprised that the minute they backslide the weight goes back on. The Pharmaceutical industry is making a fortune selling their "diet" pills/formulas. People don't stop and think about what the possible side effects of those chemicals are, and they don't realize or can't be bothered realizing, that they still have to change their eating habits for the pills to work.

The healthiest way to lose weight, and to keep it off, is to change your eating habits and your thinking about food. My mother once lost weight by eating whatever she wanted, but in smaller quantities and not snacking in-between meals. She also was a brisk walker and walked to and from her job which was about a mile or so from home. This worked for her which was great. For me, I have found that even taking in normal amounts of carbohydrates does not allow me to lose weight. I have to really keep my carb intake down (and I'm addicted to them so this is not easy to do for me) if I want to lose weight and keep it off. That is me though and that won't work for someone else.

Low fat isn't exactly the best either as our bodies require a certain amount of fat daily to stay healthy, this is especially important for children.

I see the ads on TV for Jenny Craig and Nutrisystem and while the concept is nice (I tried one of them once back in 1990), they don't teach you how to eat or about nutrition (though they try) for they really encourage you to use their already packaged foods so you don't have to think about it (yes, it is an appealing and easy thing for working folks no argument). The minute you stop that, you gain the weight back again. I spent a year doing that, and included 60 minutes of exercise daily with it. I lost all off 15 pounds in 12 months and NO inches at all off my waist. The minute I stopped using their food I gained back 25 lbs within 6 months. I think it's mostly because most of us don't take that next step to changing our habits and how we look at food. And let's be honest, especially in this economy, junk food and the processed grocery store food is the least expensive.

Weight Watchers might actually be good (I've never tried them just because the idea of regular meetings turned me off), but who has time to do all that figuring and counting? Most working people just don't.

And who the heck came up with that new "food pyramid"? There aren't enough hours in the day to eat that much food. Are these people on drugs or what?

The key is to know your own body, learn it, listen to it and change how you eat based on what works for you without leaving you feeling hungry and deprived. Exercise helps also, but I honestly don't believe that you have to do 30 or 60 or 90 minutes every day of vigorous exercise. Again it comes down to knowing your body and what works. For some folks, briskly walking a mile (that's only a 10 - 15 minute walk) is all it takes. For others they have to run for several miles. Everyone's metabolism is as different as everyone's bone structure and body mass.

We are all different and our bodies react differently to the same things. That's why it is important to know your body, for you are the best person to know it and take care of it.