Despite how much you here about them in conversation and in the media, New Year’s resolutions aren’t as popular as you might think. A recent poll shows that less than a third of Canadians make a resolution and, of those, almost three-quarters end up breaking their resolutions.
According to the poll, living a healthier lifestyle, including managing your weight, is the leading New Year’s resolution.
But, if losing weight is your New Year’s resolution, there’s even more bad news about your chances of success. In addition to the slim numbers of people who stick to their resolutions, there are similarly slim number of people who manage to keep the weight off following a weight loss diet.
Depending on which statistics you believe, you have an 85% to 95% chance of regaining at least some, if not all the weight lost during a crash diet within three to six years following the diet.
So, if there’s a low statistical chance of keeping your New Year’s resolution, and a low statistical chance of keeping off the weight lost in a crash diet, what will be your 2018 resolution if you want to lose weight?
A surprisingly high number of people will look for yet another new weight loss diet that seems to make more sense than the last.
A Brief History of Weight Loss Dieting
If you think weight loss diets are a relatively recent thing, you’d be right, if 2,300 years is relatively recent. The ancient Greeks believed that being ‘fat’ was a sign of laziness and corruption. In the third century B.C., Hippocrates recommended a diet of raw, healing foods, among other lifestyle changes, to avoid being overweight.
But dieting as we know it didn’t take off until the early 20th century. Unfortunately, by then, it had become a game of counting calories.
And that’s the root of the problem.
Why Most Weight Loss Diets Don’t Work
While the basic premise of losing weight by eating fewer calories than you burn is sound, it is rarely put into practise in an effective way by crash diets.
Although it seems like a simple equation, the complexities of your body and managing your weight make it anything but simple. We’ve told you before about why you must count calories, but why it doesn’t work as the only basis for losing weight.
From the difficulty in accurately counting calories, to the fact that calories from different types of foods are not treated equally by your body, turning weight loss into a simple equation doesn’t work.
But the crash diet weight loss industry in Canada is hooked on the $7 Billion dollars a year it gets from people who just can’t avoid the temptation of a quick fix to their weight problems. To meet the demand, and keep the money rolling in, they keep coming up with ‘new’ diets and mass-produced products that promise to deliver the weight loss results you hope for in a relatively short amount of time.
Weight loss diets and products that are designed to work for everyone rarely work for anyone.
How to Give Your New Year’s Resolution a Better Chance of Success
Trying yet another fad diet or the latest off-the-shelf products to meet your weight loss goals in 2018 is like trying to do the wrong thing better. Instead, take an approach that’s designed for you and focused on your health and nutrition, as well as your weight management.
1. Eat a Balanced Diet
Foods that give your body the right amount of proteins, carbohydrates and fats, based on the Canada Food Guide and commonly available in your grocery store, will keep you healthy and make sure you don’t suffer the hunger pangs that can ruin all your efforts.
2. Choose the Right Nutritional Supplements
Good nutrition, a healthy metabolism and maintaining your energy are critical to giving your body everything it needs to healthily lose weight.
3. Use a Plan Developed Specifically for Your Needs
A professional nutrition counsellor, like those at your Herbal One Centre, will help you choose the right foods, use the right herbal supplements and help you stay on track in a program that is designed for your particular needs and goals.
To learn more, and tackle your 2018 New Year’s weight loss resolutions the right way, call or visit your nearest Herbal One Centre.