Evaluating Weight Loss Information
Time To Start Thinking "Diet"
With the holidays upon us, there are millions of people looking to skinny down before loading up on all the goodies to be had at this time of year. You tell yourself if you can lose ten pounds, you can appear more suave or sexy as you make the rounds of parties and holiday events.
There are more weight loss programs, pills and advice available than you could possibly try in a lifetime. When you go looking for weight loss information, how do you know what's hype and what works? Weight loss forums get real busy this time of year. After the holidays, you're back to bemoan the fact that the weight's back and now what?? Everybody has their two cents to contribute.
Finding Appropriate Weight Loss Info Is Trying
Some of the more structured websites that deal with weight loss information are a bit stodgy and dry. This information, while for the most part credible, is too much information to the point where you begin to feel like digesting it all might take months. You'll also find caveats galore. Don't do this if you're on a salt restricted diet or, if you're genetically disposed to ... , leaving you thinking you need a battery of tests performed to distinguish the do's from the don'ts. Unless you can and want to spend a few months figuring out your own custom weight loss program, this type of weight loss information may not be news you can use right now. 
There's no shortage of weight loss information books, from chic and trendy programs to scholastic tomes. The academic books, written by people with degrees in nutrition, contain accurate information. The trendy books ones that read, 'The (insert now-household name) Diet' would not have become household names if they didn't work for some people. Therein lies the rub. What if you're not one of those people? You might even have tried one of these in the past and found it did not work, even though your neighbor lost 20 pounds with that method. This type of weight loss information carries its own caveat, that being that it might not work, although the theory and science is credible.
Where do you find practical, accurate weight loss information?
What's not often mentioned in any of these venues is that losing weight has a largely psychological component. This is why your neighbor lost 20 pounds on the X diet, while you gave it up after a month of fruitless effort. The psychological factor is key to your success. The bottom line is your motivation and counting calories. That's all there is to it.
My Recommendation 1
So here's my two cents. Allow a week to prep up for the effort. Just like quitting smoking, you've got to mentally prepare yourself. List every reason you can think of that motivates you to lose weight. Nothing's too silly. Stick your list on the frig or hide it in your purse. During this week, make a food diary which details every bit of food you ingest. No cheating. Add up the calories for each day and divide by seven. That's your average current caloric intake. If your weight loss goal is one pound per week, deduct 500 calories from your average and plan your menus accordingly. Weigh yourself on the morning of day one. Exercise will naturally enhance reaching your objective. Be hard on yourself and stick with the program. Fewer calories equals weight loss. This is the common sense approach to weight loss information that works for you.
My Recommendation 2
Look at it this way. It's silly to go on a weight loss program before New Year's. So you can take your time, enjoy the holidays, maybe start really thinking about it towards the end of the month, then New Year's. Then, you can start. What else is there to do in January? Hey, I live in Chicago. January is diet time!
Published by Natural Health Trip
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Tags: Diet, Holidays, weight loss, weight loss forums, weight loss info, weight loss information, weight loss programs
December 5th, 2008 at 10:19 pm
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