Dieting Getting in the Way of a Healthy Lifestyle?

While the New Year is here and many are preparing for another popular cleanse diet, ask yourself this, is it worth putting your body through this stress?

We all recognize that these diets may get the job done now, but let’s try to think about what the best options are for a long-term healthy lifestyle.

The debate between dieting and lifestyle changes has been going on for years. We know this can be confusing for the individuals trying to find the best option for them and their health, so we here at ExpressMD Urgent Care want to give you the facts to make the best decision.

While getting ready to start your new health craze, ask yourself a few questions, does your diet make specific foods off limits? Has this diet promised unrealistic weight loss goals over a short time period? Finally, has it promised to help you lose weight without exercising?

If you answered yes to any of the following questions, chances are you’re looking at a fad diet. Fad or trendy diets are not always a bad thing, but depending on its implementation, they can lead to more severe health consequences later down the road.

While people often diet to lose weight quickly, nutritionists and doctors agree that fad diets are not a jumpstart to health, but are frequently, quite the opposite.

Extreme, fast-paced weight-loss regimens can make you think you are shedding those unwanted pounds, but rather than fat, you are dropping a high proportion of water mass, or even losing muscle tissue. By limiting nutritional intake, fad diets can be quite unhealthy.

Since the majority of diets are temporary, most people’s weight will eventually return back to the original weight and often a higher weight.  Professionals call this fluctuation of weight ‘yo-yo dieting’, and while the term might sound harmless enough, the repetition of this dieting method can take a severe toll on your body that can lead to health problems down the road. In response to this, doctors are now emphasizing the importance of maintaining a healthy regimen by adjusting lifestyle, rather than just dieting.

Managing and maintaining a healthy lifestyle does not result from a short-term dietary change. Rather, it’s about making a long-term commitment to change that includes healthy eating, regular physical activity, and balancing the number of calories eaten alongside the calories the body uses.

Although the term ‘lifestyle change’ sounds intimidating, it’s all about making small modifications that lead to a significant result. Results may take longer to notice, but the body is then able to maintain a healthy, and sustainable weight loss rate, which is around 1 to 2 pounds per week.
The key to making a lifestyle change last is creating a realistic plan that you are confident you can maintain. The most critical element to being able to implement this change into your day-to-day regimen is progressing as the process becomes more normalized. Therefore make sure you start small and break down your overall goal into manageable steps. Making a lifestyle change is not an easy job, but it is the most beneficial for your health. If you can, involve a friend for support. It will make the process much less intimidating. There are also support groups in your community and online that have other people just like you who are making healthy lifestyle changes.

So remember when you think that making a lifestyle change sounds hard compared to dieting, don’t forget that there is a massive difference in weight loss and being healthy, and dieting gets in the way of long-lasting change.