Millions today are searching for a diet solution. Why has it been so hard for so many to lose weight, or really to simply burn fat? The science of fat burning to reduce weight should be a simple one but for millions it has proved to be a very elusive goal. The basic science simply says burn more calories a day than you eat and you will lose weight. For some it is that simple, eat less, exercise more and the fat melts away. If only it was that easy for everyone. That being said there are much greater issues that we must consider in our search for a diet solution.
Reality Check No 1.We are all different.
What works for one person does not always work for the next and this is a fact that we simply have to accept. Our metabolic rates vary considerably. This means that some people are just more energetic, burn more calories while others operate at much lower levels. Our response to lower food intake levels vary. Many people when they go on a diet, the body’s defence mechanism kicks in and the body stores fat against what it perceives as a period of starvation and so the diet has the opposite effect to what the dieter intended. Then if you have a very efficient digestive system you will take the maximum nutrients from your food while others with less efficient digestive system take up much less. Obviously the later may not have the battle with fat that those with efficient digestive systems have. Some of us feel more hungry than others and we tend to eat more to satisfy our hunger. The differences are endless. Is it fair to expect a diet solution to cater for all these differences?
Reality Check No 2. Are some people doomed to be fat?
You may be asking the question, “Am I pre-programmed to always carry more fat?” If you have battled with overweight for a long time the answer maybe “Yes”. Does that mean that there is nothing you can do about being overweight? The answer to that question is a very definite “No”. There are diet solutions that do work for obese people.
Reality Check No 3. Many Diets today are just not the answer!
We now know much more about weight-loss. It is true we still have a lot to learn but slowly the truth about weight loss is becoming much clearer. Today there are hundreds of weight-loss programs. Visit your drug-store or supermarket and the shelves are full of them. Do they work? Many of them are very successful. Follow them closely for a few weeks or months and you will lose weight. The trouble is as soon as you go off them the weight very quickly returns. None of these diet programs are designed as a permanent diet. They are not a long-term diet solution. To stay on them for extended periods of time will in many cases threaten your health. We were made to enjoy nourishing meals and foods, not shakes, bars and pills! Eating is a very social part of our life, and the social pressures while we live on shakes, bars and pills are immense. Most find the temptation to cheat very difficult. Sooner or later we realise that all these fancy diets are not a long-term solution to the problem of being overweight. (Further we should not overlook the psychological effects these failures have on our thought processes as we battle with overweight.)
