Parent to Parent with Jodie Lynn at CatholicMom.com

Parent to Parent
by Jodie Lynn

www.ParenttoParent.com

Yo-Yo Dieting Doesn’t Work

Summer will soon be here and everywhere you look, there are ads for this diet and that diet pill, regiment or a "lose 10 pounds the first day" plan.

While some of these may work for a week or so, most results of dieters won’t reach their primary goal of losing weight and reflecting a healthy and vibrant status . . . not for long.

The main reason is that most of us who do go with an unsupervised diet plan usually gain all of the weight back and add a few additional pounds. Unfortunately, this puts us right back where we started, but also with more weight and higher risks of diabetes, heart attack and a good chance of a stroke.

Typically, known as "yo-yo dieting," doctors and scientists find that the strain and stress, both emotionally and physically, that is associated with this pattern, actually prove that we might have been better off by never starting a diet in the first place.

Here are some suggestions you might be able to live with:

Realize that what might work for someone else might not work for you.
Get a complete physical from your doctor and talk with him about the best plan to lose weight for your individual body type, make-up and age.
Go with a plan that can be closely supervised by an individual with a degree or registered license to supervise your program.
Calories need to be checked on a daily basis.
Write down everything you put into your mouth.
Begin exercising by implementing brief sessions and building from there.
Include weight lifting into your daily routine.
Change your eating pattern.
Eat healthier by eating smaller meals more frequently.
Eat more fruit.
Switch your snacks to healthier ones.
Program your brain to acknowledge that it might take months to look and feel the true benefits of a healthy and safe program.
If you mess up, and fall off the new plan, don’t beat yourself up with negative thoughts.
Always have a positive support system where you can network and be around others who are also trying to lose weight.

Don’t compare your weight loss with others and get down on yourself when you don’t lose weight as quickly as someone else might. Sometimes, people actually weigh more during a weight loss program but are actually healthier than before they started. This is due to muscle weighing more than fat.

Once you begin your new program, just knowing that you are doing something good for yourself is priceless.

Remember, losing weight is all about cutting down on calories, expanding more energy, eating healthier and accepting the truth about what to expect realistically for your personal body type and age.

Jodie Lynn is an award-winning internationally syndicated family/health columnist and radio personality. Her syndicated column Parent to Parent (www.ParentToParent.com) has been successful for over 11 years and appears in newspapers, magazines, newsletters and throughout the Internet. She is a regular contributor to several sites including eDiets.com, KeepKidsHealthy.com, MainStreetMom.com, CatholicMom.com, MommiesMagazine and ClubMom.com. Lynn's latest book, Mom CEO (Chief Everything Officer) TM - Having, Doing, and Surviving It All! (June 2006), is now available at Amazon, B&N, and any bookstore. PLEASE NOTE: This book is best suited for moms who are interested in developing traditions and building memories with their family It has several quick doable yummy recipes at the end of each chapter customized by age: babies through teens; includes a section on fitness/exercise, as well as, pregnancy, breastfeeding, academic pointers from preschool/ kindergarten to high school and TONS of daily challenges in motherhood. If you are a writer, columnist or just thinking about beginning a writing career, check out Syndication Secrets: What No One Will Tell You! (March 2006). Please see our site for details on her radio talk show, Inside Parenting Success and sign up for our newsletter, which offers awesome recipes and tips.