Think dieting doesn't cost much? Take a look at what the first week cost for some of the most popular diets.
Dieting is expensive. How can that be, you wonder, spending more money to eat less food?
A recent article on www.forbes.com * reported on the dollars that a dieter needs to spend in the first week of following seven different popular diets. Here’s what they found:
NutriSystem......................................98.00
Weight Watchers.............................388.00
Zone...................................................273.00
South Beach.....................................323.00
The Abs Diet……………………….250.00
5-Factor Diet……………………….380.00
Martha Vineyard’s Diet Detox …...485.00
* http://www.forbes.com/2007/12/28/diets-popular-cost-forbeslife-cx_rr_0102health.html
Pretty amazing, isn’t it?
This is particularly true when you consider that diets do not work for the long term. Most dieters end up gaining the weight back that they had originally lost, sometimes even more! Ask any veteran dieter, and they’ll tell you this is true. Why else would the diet and weight loss industry take in over $40 billion in revenue each year?
A study conducted at UCLA showed that short term dieting (up to about 6 months) can be achieved, but two-thirds of all dieters regain the weight within 4 - 5 years. The reason that these diets ultimately fail is that the underlying causes of overeating aren't usually addressed. The focus is all on counting calories, restricting fats, cutting out carbs, not eating after 7pm, detoxifying the body or other such tactics.
While these approaches may work on a short term basis, they do nothing to teach lifestyle changes, changes that you can do for the rest of your life to manage your weight.
Taking a look at the reasons why you overeat is a good starting point for changing your eating behavior. Is food what you turn to when you are under stress? Nothing to take the edge off like half a bag of Oreos, right?
Do you refrain from expressing your feelings, stuffing them down with french fries and milkshakes instead?
Examine these questions, too...how do I eat? fast or slow? alone or with others? am I persuaded by advertisements to eat something? if someone offers me something to eat that I don't really want, do I eat it anyway to avoid hurting his feelings?
Be honest with yourself when answering these, and brainstorm some ways you can change these unhealthy eating practices. What could you do instead of eating when under stress? Take a warm bath, read a good mystery, take a walk around the block? Think about what could work for you.
Granted, dealing with the root issues may take a little longer, but you'll be much farther ahead in the long run. Plus, avoiding these expensive diets will leave you extra money to spend on new, smaller-size clothes!
