Back on the diet treadmill

You've tried every diet on the planet. Even stuck with a few of them for awhile. Sometimes you actually lost weight. Your motivation to stick to your diet spurs you on with and with renewed determination you try again, denying yourself those forbidden treats and promising yourself this time it's going to work.

But it seems like every time, something happens that trips up your motivation to stick to your diet plan and you blow it.

To make matters worse, you notice that every time you lose weight and go off your diet, not only do you gain the weight back in record time, you gain it back plus a few pounds.

Doctors don't know it all

You may have seen a doctor about your weight. Unless he is an alternative doctor, he probably doesn't have a clue about the true nature of weight loss other than to prescribe dangerous drugs that only work short term (remember fen-phen?).

The average doctor receives less than two weeks of nutritional training. Their interest lies more in curing the symptom (overweight) with drugs rather than in finding the cause of the symptom and treating that.

Staying motivated to diet can take more than determination and willpower.

Mind-body connection

Scientists are learning more all the time about the mind-body connection. The body has an overriding survival mechanism that kicks in if a person drastically cuts calories. If the brain perceives that starvation is imminent, the metabolism slows down, calories are conserved, and before you know it, you gain weight eating grapes and lettuce!


If the subconscious believes there is a reason to "hang onto" the fat, it believes the fat is protecting you, and nothing you do will change that until you first change your subconscious beliefs about being fat.

You can have all the motivation in the world to stick to your diet, but the subconscious beliefs win every time.

So what can you do to win the battle of the bulge?

Steps to make your motivation to diet work for you

Step 1: One of the first things you can do to lose weight is to forget dieting. Instead, forgive yourself for any past mistakes, and determine to make positive changes that will really do some good.

Dolly Parton was once asked how she kept her tiny, 21" waist. She replied that she never denied herself any food. She watched what she ate and followed a strict diet, but if a certain forbidden food presented itself, she would take just one bite and savor it. That way she never felt cheated or deprived. She observed that one bite "pretty much took care of any craving" and knowing she could have it took away the negative feelings and desire to cheat.

Step 2: Eat several small meals a day. This one's been around for a long time, but science is proving it to be true. Supplying the body with a steady supply of energy keeps blood levels even and prevents those precarious dips that cause a person to abandon their diet and binge.

Step 3: Eliminate the "white menace" - refined white flour and sugar. These do more to spike blood sugar and cause the body to store fat than most anything else. These ingredients are in most processed foods, and should be replaced with whole grains and natural sweeteners.

Step 4: Not all fats are created equal. Trans-fats are quickly becoming recognized as harmful to the body. They are created when oil is heated to intense temperatures and are found in most processed, deep-fried and fast foods, and should be avoided like the plague.

Olive oil is a good choice for oil, as is the much-maligned coconut oil.

Step 5: Take a quality omega-3 fish oil supplement and probiotics. These do more than almost any other supplement to heal the body and help with weight loss by clearing inflammation and healing the gut for better digestion and absorption of nutrients.

Step 6: Exercise and relaxation. There is a rapidly growing acknowledgment that aerobic exercise is not all it's cracked up to be. Instead, try interval training - short bursts of intense activity followed by a period of slower activity such as walking, repeated several times.

Relaxation techniques such as yoga, meditation, hypnosis and others are important for the emotional and mental side of weight loss.

Following these steps is a great beginning to stay motivated to stick to that diet!