Obtain a healthy weight without dieting.

For some people dieting is a game to play. For some, it is a daily challenge and a burden. For still others, it seems an impossible task. The media doesn’t help, constantly showering us with images of the perfect body and overwhelming us with opportunities to eat poorly at every turn. The truth is that dieting is generally not healthy, nor productive in the long term. If you want to be healthy, lose weight and keep it off, you need to stop dieting and change the way you eat and live. If you want to improve your life and live longer, you need to make permanent changes in your lifestyle and your eating habits.

First step, stop dieting. I'm sure I'll get a lot of comments on this one, but diets are temporary fixes to a long-term problem.  You need a permanent solution. Throw away your scales and pay attention to your self-image; don’t think of it as a number of pounds.  You need to start paying attention to how you look and feel and stop relying on a machine to tell you these things. Look in a mirror and determine which areas need work. Pay attention to those areas and keep paying attention.

Listen to yourself. Eat only if you are actually hungry. If you find yourself wanting to eat for other reasons, pay attention and address those feelings and emotions without using food as a tool. Think about, seriously consider, what you put in your mouth before you do so. If it is useless calories, put it down. 

Next, purge your house of junk food and anything with high fructose corn syrup in the first four ingredients. Purge on a weekly basis if necessary. Snack on vegetables and fruit only.  If you do indeed feel hungry between meals, there is no harm in this as long as you aren’t adding anything else like butter, sauce or dips. Drink water with your snacks. Try drinking a full glass of water in the morning and one before bed, as well as one with every meal. This will make you feel fuller, and hopefully, eat less. And while you are at, try to stop drinking so much flavored coffee, sugared juice and sodas. Often a single serving of one of these comprises 1/3 of your daily caloric intake.

Eat foods rich in fiber. You’ve heard it at least a dozen times, but have you done it? Switching to whole grains will also make you feel fuller, longer. Fast foods are generally not fiber-rich.  Instead, trade the fast for tasty, healthy options from home. Bring your own, healthy lunch to work with you. It saves time, money and calories.

Reduce the screen time. Your body expends very little energy doing absolutely nothing. Instead, get up and do something active. See next step. And however much time you spend in front of the television, don’t eat in front of it! People tend to eat more while watching tv.

Above all, make physical activities a habit. Get some kind of aerobic exercise for 30-60 minutes five days of the week. Even just going for a brisk walk on a regular basis will make a difference.

Remember this: you are not in a race with anyone, including yourself, to lose weight as fast as possible. You are changing the way that you live so that you can live longer and better.  It may not be easy, but it is very much worthwhile.