Diets can never work. A diet is a quick fix for a lifetime of bad eating habits. I wish that I was a personal trainer telling you this but I am a simple overweight 30 something woman who has tried most diets! From Atkins to South beach to the one I just finished a few days ago. When I say finished I mean I gave up on it because it was very strict. I did lose six pounds in six days with the latest diet I was on, so that shows that diets can help you lose weight. The problem with the diet I was on as with most diets is that it is ridiculous to think that anyone can stay on a diet forever. Unless it is a plan that teaches you about nutrition and making a lifestyle change forget it! Diets that ask you to eat foods you don’t like or you are starving to death by noon will fail. I have been very successful in the past with losing weight on several well known diets. Did I keep it off? Um no! Did I gain back more that I lost? Yes! Diets can’t work without a plan to change your whole life, not just a meal plan or meal replacements. We need to learn what works for our bodies and what we can live with our whole life. I can not live my life know that for the rest of it I have to eat a food bar for two meals a day!

I am talking as a heavy person so I can be blunt. We as “chubby” people got chubby for a reason. Now if you are one of the few who has a thyroid problem or other medical reason that you are heavy don’t be offended with what I am saying. I know that I am fat because I eat food that is high in sugar and mainly a processed food diet. I have been a bigger girl my whole life. I love cake, cookies, ice cream and most anything you can find at a fast food restaurant! I am not a fan of anything remotely healthy! I over eat and I indulge in whatever I want. Now how can a person who eats like I eat not get fat. Never mind the fact that my treadmill and I have been in a fight for the past several years. I know several chubby people and they like me make very poor choices when it comes to food. Now how is a quick fix like a diet going to help us? I say it can never do for us what gaining an understanding of food and nutrition can do.

I am a carb person. I do not really like meat, unless it is resting in between a bread product. With knowing that information I had to find a way to still eat bread and start to get healthy. I gave up on diets three days ago when after only being on the very strict plan I wanted to hurt people for food! So in this short time I read a book on lifestyle choices and food. The trick to losing weight is that you can lose it with a diet but you will only keep it off if you make serious changes in your life. I have come to the conclusion that sugar is my problem and am now starting to change how I eat. If you look back in the past, thousand of years back, they did not have the weight problem we have now. They ate good foods, steaks, potatoes, bread and of course vegetables. What they did not consume very much of was sugar. My suggestion to you is to back away from the billion dollar diet industry and learn about what is healthy. Watch the labels! Just because it says smart or healthy on it doesn’t mean it isn’t loaded with sugar! Know what you want and go get it! I will be thin this time next year because I gave up on diets and am changing my life!

I suppose I should apologize to my treadmill as I hear that along with eating right exercising helps in the battle of the bulge!