Pain, No Gain

When I was young I thought the only way to lose weight was to go hungry. No pain, no gain. I’d start a new diet every couple of months, and endure the torture of a gnawing stomach before lunch, a gnawing stomach mid-afternoon, and a desperation to eat about an hour before dinner. By 8 o’clock in the evening, I wasn’t just physically worn out, I was disheartened and frustrated. All I could think about was eating.

The starving-yourself kind of dieting reminds me of the fad diets many celebrities go on. What the pop culture thinks is a good image usually isn’t healthy. Furthermore, starving the body is counter-productive. For starters, it usually doesn’t help a person lose weight and keep it off because it’s too extreme to live by. If starving does make a person lose weight for long-term, that person usually has greater physical problems than she ever had when she was overweight. In fact, she could end up with a terminal condition.

Starving the body is a negative approach. When I would starve myself, I often felt depressed. I almost never felt like exercising. My diets were always short-lived.

Fueling my body with of good amount of nutrients and calories is a positive approach. I do feel like exercising! I feel rejuvenated. I sleep well at night. I stick to the eating plan, since I feel so good.

It may take a little longer to lose the weight I’m trying to lose, but that’s okay. I’ve learned that the positive approach is really the only way I’m going to be successful at losing and keeping the weight off, so it’ll be worth it in the end.