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"The Top 10 Ways To NOT Lose Weight"In this Report we're going to look at the Top 10 Ways we Americans try to lose weight. Sadly, these are also the same ways that are least likely to actually produce weight loss.
The US Dept. of Health tells us that an astonishing 96% of all weight loss attempts end in failure. That means that less than one person in twenty succeeds at weight loss.
On top of that, we gain back a tragic 95% of all the weight we lose! What could be more maddeningly frustrating -- after all the blood, sweat, and tears it took to lose it?
As a result of our current approach to weight loss, 70% of us are now overweight, and 20% of us are dangerously overweight: obese. What can we do to reverse this deadly, misery-inducing trend?
The first step to get the facts. First we need to understand why Diet Industry approaches fail so miserably. Then we need to look at actual scientific research data about what does work. Finally, we need to know how we can apply what we learn in our own lives.
We're do all three of those things in this article. "Stop The Insanity?"
Remember Susan Powter, the blonde with the buzz cut and the popular infomercial? She begged and pleaded with the Diet / Fitness Industry to "Stop The Insanity." And she did her darndest to make it happen.
Sad to say, the Insanity is still going strong. In fact, it's stronger than ever. You'll soon see just how strong the Weight Loss Industry Insanity really is -- and why it's time to cut it out of your life and finally get some real and lasting results!
We can begin by examining the top 10 ways to NOT lose weight. Let's take a look at each of them in turn, and find out why they fail so tragically -- and so often.
1. Dieting / Going On Diets
This may come as a tremendous shock to most people, but diets are a lousy way to lose weight. Why? Because they ignore all of the reasons why we're overweight in the first place!
Everybody knows that the way to lose weight is to (a) eat less, (b) exercise more, or (c) some combination of the two, right? But virtually no one overeats because of physical hunger. Research has shown that the real reasons we overeat involve factors we can't see or touch, aren't consciously aware of, and have no real control over.
The reasons we overeat stem from hidden motivations that, in turn, are the products of beliefs and attitudes we may not even know we have.
That's why no amount of consciously trying to "cut down" can make any lasting difference. All it does is make us feel deprived, anxious, and even more depressed when we fail yet again.
You see, weight loss success is not about food. Nor is it about exercise. It's about why we don't stop eating it, even when our physical hunger has been satisfied. And that's why trying to decide which "diet plan" is right for you is like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. It's a total waste of time, and it won't change the tragic outcome one bit. 2. Trying To Avoid Foods You Like
This popular but very stressful activity is just as much a waste of time and effort as dieting. In fact, it's a form of dieting. "Dieting," for our purposes, is defined as "any effort to control your body weight by controlling the volume or nature of food you eat."
Am I saying that what you eat isn't important? Certainly not. Some foods are clearly better for you than others. And just as clearly, a proper amount of food is healthier than too much -- or too little. But we need to get our focus off of the food itself (and off anything physical, for that matter) and onto the reasons we're eating too much in the first place.
As you may know, trying to avoid the foods you like the most just makes you want them more. That's the way it is with anything that feels like self-denial. If something feels like self-denial, it is self-denial. That's no way to live -- and it's certainly no way to lose weight! 3. Trying To Avoid Fattening Foods In General
This is another approach that doesn't work in real life. The problem, again, is that you're constantly fighting your own desires. You are trying to consciously impose your will (see Item 8, "Will Power") on your own powerful but unseen unconscious motivations.
But your will -- anybody's will -- is no match for your deeper cravings and unconscious beliefs and attitudes. You need to understand that you are literally programmed to want what you want. It is utterly futile to try to fight your own deeply-held programming with something as weak as a human will.
The only lasting way to succeed at weight loss is to make changes in your personal programming -- the beliefs and attitudes that are the real, root causes of your weight problem.
The good news is that this is both easy and enjoyable. It's also very enlightening. Better still, self-reprogramming involves none of the stress and struggle that Diet Industry methods require. Best of all, once you've made the necessary changes, getting to your target weight and staying there becomes just as automatic as being overweight used to be.
And every pound you lose is gone for good! 4. Making Repeated Attempts To Lose Weight
This is the most tragic consequence of Diet Industry approaches. With each failed weight loss attempt, it becomes more difficult to take off the pounds. It's called the "Yo-Yo" syndrome. Every time the weight goes down, it just comes back up again.
But unlike a Yo-Yo, it wants to come up higher than the starting point. Such disappointing results can easily send us spiraling down into depression -- which can then make us put on even more weight.
It's a truly vicious cycle, and one that can take a heavy toll, not just on our body, but on mind and spirit as well. Depression, even suicide, can result. So don't waste another minute of your life on this deadly approach.
5. Diet Pills / Drugs / Herbal Supplements
This dangerous practice is finally getting some of the publicity it deserves. Almost every week brings more news coverage of the dangers of ephedra / ma huang / etc.. More than 100 deaths and countless health problems have been directly linked to this "natural" stimulant.
Remember that "natural" does not automatically mean healthy. More insecticides and poisons have been created by Mother Nature than by Dow or Dupont.
Sure, we all want results. And we want them FAST. Yesterday would be nice. And therein lies much of our problem. We humans are not a patient bunch, and we Americans are probably the worst of the lot. We expect -- and usually get -- whatever we want, and at the touch of a button. And we demand that whatever problems can't be solved with a button be remedied with a pill.
But reality doesn't work that way. You simply can't win by cheating. 6. Skipping Meals / Fasting
If you're genuinely not feeling hungry, are in good health, and have no unhealthy psychological issues motivating you decision to skip the occasional meal, then it's not a problem.
But if you skip meals out of guilt, as part of a food-based weight loss effort, or because you think you're just too fat, then beware. If your meal-skipping feels remotely like self-deprivation, then you are on dangerous ground. Stop it immediately.
Now, there's nothing inherently dangerous about fasting. Your own motivation is what makes the crucial difference. Why are you fasting? If your reason in any way involves weight loss, you're on the wrong track.
Denying yourself food is a miserable, painful, and totally ineffective way to control your weight. And, because it is an act of self-deprivation -- a very severe one -- it will always create negative consequences. You can count on your own psyche to strike back at you, through your unconscious motivations.
And whenever your conscious decisions (like fasting and skipping meals) conflict with your unconscious motivations (like eating whatever and whenever you want to), the unconscious motivations will sooner or later win every time.
Count on it. 7. Using Generic, One-Size-Fits-All, "Cookie
Cutter"
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