How many times have you tried to diet/lose weight in the past?
How many times have you had some initial success only to fall short of your goals?
How many times have you achieved your initial goals, only to see them fly away faster than you were able to enjoy the fruits of your labour?
Why does this happen?
In most cases, the answer is simple. You've failed one test... This is a difficult test. This test I like to call consistent persistence.
Sometimes, you will be missing other essential components. You need to also include a variety of other things that will make the consistent persistence useful. If you are consistently persistent in doing the wrong things, you will still fail. So before we get in to the final key, let's review the other essential components.
Successful dieting and or weight loss should always be geared towards a total lifestyle change that you intend to be permanent. If you cannot healthily sustain the changes for an indefinite period, it probably isn't the right diet for you. Reasonable exceptions would include medically necessary emergency weight loss, with a view to changing the program once the crisis management was concluded.
If you are trying to lose weight, you should have a goal of maintaining that weight loss for at least five years. How many of the fad diets out there today could withstand a five year test? Not many.
With the diet changes (that can be maintained for five or more years in a healthy fashion), it is essential to increase your energy expenditure.
You can increase this energy expenditure with a variety of strategies. Some of those include supplements that boost your metabolic rate. As we have seen with the ephedra issue, it isn't always the safest choice. A safer way is timing your activity to boost your energy expenditure throughout the day. One of those ways is to exercise early in the morning before eating, and then waiting for a period of time after having concluded your exercise before you eat. If you have blood sugar regulation difficulties such as diabetes or hypoglycemia, this may not be the route for you to take.
Additionally, because your body will accommodate to any exercise regimen after a period of time, you will need to vary your programs.
Water consumption at adequate levels is a must in any successful plan. This will help to wash away the waste products and toxins that the body will release as you burn away the fat (which does store some toxins).
Adequate supplementation with good quality vitamins and minerals is also very important so that your body has the micronutrients it needs to drive its metabolic processes.
Ensuring that your body does not think that it is in a state of famine is also important. While it is a good idea to decrease your overall caloric intake, you want to make sure that you feed you body on a regular basis, so that it knows that food is still available and is coming soon. Six small meals a day is generally a good idea. Your choice of calorie sources is also important. For many health reasons, it is good to avoid highly processed products. Vine ripened, organic produce is also a great idea.
Another way to help yourself succeed and give your body a greater variety of micronutrients and enzymes is to eat a large variety of foods. Our bodies haven't yet really adapted to the advent of agriculture, let alone a few monocrops. Variety, variety, and more variety is a great idea.
Ensure that your rest is adequate and of good quality. If you do not rest adequately, all of your body's processes can be adversely affected.
Take time for yourself. Meditate or pray. This will help you on so many different levels that there isn't enough time or space to go into it.
Set yourself reasonable, attainable goals with specific time frames. If you don't achieve them, reset the goals and review your plan. Maybe the goal was unrealistic or the the plan was faulty. Entertain both possibilities. If you don't know how to tell, enlist professional help.
Measure your progress. Measuring in inches and energy is a better way to evaluate how you are doing rather than by pounds. Also very useful and a good measure of health factors, is to record how your body fat percentages change (for better or for worse).
So now you have the basic principles down. While a three month interval is a great way to look at progress points, if you stop there, you have failed. You need consistent persistence. At every goal point, re-evaluate your plan, refine it, work it, and then repeat the process. If you need a holiday from your routine, schedule it, don't improvise or you are likely to fall out of the routine and have a difficult time getting back into it.
Work it, re-evaluate it, measure your progress, and repeat.
Consistent persistence is the key to your success. This success must also be built on sound principles and be realistic, sustainable, and varied.
Don't let yourself be discouraged, keep at it and fight to maintain your consistent persistence because this is where success lives.
The information contained in this article is for educational purposes only and is not intended to medically diagnose, treat or cure any disease. Consult a health care practitioner before beginning any health care program.
Emily Clark is editor at lifestyle health news and lifestyle health news where you can find the most up-to-date advice and information on topical health matters.
licensed cleaning services Park Ridge ..Numerous reports have recently appeared in both the lay and... Read More
Like the Sun, Moon, and Earth, there are three kinds... Read More
Are you sick and tired of the confusion about our... Read More
Many low carb dieters fall victim to "carb creep," which... Read More
Hormonal changes during pregnancy, and quite normal fat gain often... Read More
Each and every person living in the UK is... Read More
Did you know that the food you eat could be... Read More
"It's not what you eat, it's what's eating you that... Read More
1. Look for high quality, crystalline, free-form, amino acids (AAs)... Read More
How often do you pick up items at the grocery... Read More
Images of "protein powder" containers with accomplished bodybuilders on their... Read More
You are a mineral bodyEvery part of you is made... Read More
The Health and Nutrition Industry has come about as peoples... Read More
Bye Bye HolidaysHoping everyone had a fun, fantastic, exciting and... Read More
While oxygen is the key to human survival, it is... Read More
Your healthOrganically grown fruit and vegetables are not covered in... Read More
LIFESTYLE WELLNESS = An Adventure of Health + Vitality!Not a... Read More
Understanding ocular nutrition and eye health can be one of... Read More
The key to good hydration is drinking a lot of... Read More
For a natural and tasty way to improve your health... Read More
Looking into statistics, we can see the average American consumes... Read More
I spent a few days at a resort in Mexico... Read More
Despite the fact that accurate nutrition information can be accessed... Read More
Protein is one of the basic building blocks of the... Read More
The Zone Diet has been around since around 1995, when... Read More
on demand house cleaning Arlington Heights ..The natural antioxidants in Oat Bran can significantly reduce blood... Read More
I first learned of Milk Soy Protein Intolerance (MSPI) in... Read More
All of my life I believed the best way to... Read More
The topic of food additives is not quickly addressed in... Read More
Food nutrition factsFinding food nutrition facts and dietary nutrition used... Read More
Millions of people around the UK consume dairy products on... Read More
One of the most common questions I am asked is... Read More
Although you may have heard about soy and all of... Read More
When you take your food next time, take care of... Read More
Dr. Christine Wood, M.D, a practicing pediatrician in Encinitas, California,... Read More
Carbohydrates have gotten a lot of bad press in the... Read More
The sugar industry and the food manufacturers are capitalizing BIG... Read More
Constipation is the passing of dry, hard faeces fewer than... Read More
The quality of food we eat (or lack thereof) has... Read More
THE RISKWhen you consume food that's high in acid or... Read More
The most dreaded word in many dieter's vocabulary is 'fat'.... Read More
The latest tallies show that over three million people in... Read More
The Immune System is probably the most important system in... Read More
The key to better health is learning the difference between... Read More
Last year I had a number of clients who started... Read More
Herbal teas have long been known to have medicinal benefits... Read More
During a recent discussion with my father about low carb... Read More
Just what is the "New Biology of Health?" And who's... Read More
For the executive, maintaining the much-needed balance between career, family,... Read More
The Mediterranean Diet is now recognized as one of the... Read More
Nutrition |