Diets Are Bunk

Diets are bunk. That's right, I said it.

And yet diets remain the most popular way to lose weight for millions of people. Why is that? Because diets aren't the real solution to a weight problem. At best they're a band-aid. At worst, they're a frustrating, money-wasting cycle of deprivation and rebound bingeing.

If you look closer you'll see that diets are, by their very nature, doomed to fail. That's because the whole concept behind dieting is flawed. People think they can shed their excess weight by simply starving themselves into submission. But you and I know what really happens. After weeks of depriving yourself, the pressure to eat your favorite comfort food becomes unbearable, and then you explode in an orgy of binge eating. Pretty soon you're elbow deep in that half gallon tub of fudge ripple ice cream - again. Restrict, binge, restrict - and binge some more. It's called yo-yo dieting for a reason!

And the weight loss industry KNOWS this. In fact, yo-yo dieters are their cash cows - so to speak. The major weight loss franchises make billions every year from repeat customer sign-up fees, as well as sales of supplements, packaged foods and other diet aids. Why do you think the most popular weight loss chain offers a "lifetime" membership? It's because they know diets aren't the real solution to your problem, and that you'll most likely need to diet again - and again. Actually, their lifetime memberships sell very well, because dieters instinctively know that they haven't learned the necessary skills to maintain their weight loss over the long term. Think about it this way. If you took your car to a mechanic and he only fixed it temporarily, and you had to keep taking it back to him over and over for the same service, wouldn't you fire him and find a new mechanic? One who had the solution to your problem? Sure you would!



I think the reason diets are so popular is because people don't realize there's a better way. They truly believe that a diet will solve all their problems. In my experience though, yo-yo dieting solves nothing. In my own weight loss journey, I came to realize that no diet, pill, supplement or packaged food line was ever going to teach me how to become and stay thin. As a formerly obese person, I began to understand that thin people thought, behaved and acted in a way that was completely different from me. And I was determined to figure out their secret. I knew I needed to change my thoughts, attitudes, and emotions if I was ever going to have any hope of changing my body, and my life, for the better.

As it turns out, thin people and overweight people DO think differently from each other. You see, overweight people tend to think alike. Very often they're foodies who love talking about food, cooking and baking, and collecting recipes. Food is usually one of their main pleasures in life - if not THE main pleasure. If you try and take away their cookies, ice cream, pasta or chips, they'll complain loudly and make all kinds of excuses why they should be allowed to eat them. For them, life simply wouldn't be worth living without their favorite foods. If you think I'm wrong, just look at the Facebook pages of the major weight loss chains and you'll see they're filled with posts of people looking for "low-cal" recipes for brownies, or wondering how many "points" are in a slice of meat lover's double deluxe pizza. These lifelong, yo-yo dieters are simply trying to find ways to legally have their fix while they're waiting for yet another god-forsaken diet to be over.

Now I can get away with saying all this stuff because I WAS an overweight person for most of my adult life, and all of the statements above described me to a "T". But also, I'm no quitter, and I'm compelled to find the truth in most situations. My weight problem was no exception. After trying every low-fat, low-cal, and low-carb diet over and over unsuccessfully for more than 25 years, I was ready to try something completely different. I decided I was finally ready to lose the weight for good.

My research led me through every branch of alternative and holistic healing, until I stumbled upon one of the most effective healing modalities I've ever encountered. Energy psychology (also called EFT or "tapping") is a mind-body approach to healing that allows a person to make rapid changes to their thoughts and emotions. It's as simple as acupressure, and uses the same energy meridians and pressure points that acupuncturists have been using for more than two thousand years. Using energy psychology combined with my own introspection, I was able to identify and quickly release the emotions that were causing my emotional eating behavior, my cravings for comfort food, and even my disdain for exercise. It enabled me to do in a few weeks what I had been unable to do for over 25 years. It allowed me to change my mindset, and ultimately my lifestyle, so I could finally achieve my permanent weight loss goal of 55 lbs. It's amazing how much easier weight loss became for me once those voices in my head screaming for chips and chocolate were silenced.

But I believe it takes real courage to take a look at your life and examine the real reasons why you overeat and avoid exercise. Unfortunately, not everyone has that kind of courage. So at this time of year, when our thoughts naturally turn to new year's resolutions about dieting, I challenge you instead to boldly go where no dieter has gone before. I challenge you to commit to examining your own beliefs and emotions surrounding food and exercise, and to deal with them one final time. Because those insights are quite literally your key to losing the weight for good. When it comes to dieting, it's exactly like Albert Einstein so famously said, "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting a different result."

Dieting is, quite literally, insane. No one ever went on a diet once, and kept the weight off for life. Only by making a lifestyle change can you hope to achieve permanent weight loss. The secret to true weight loss success lies in making an internal change. Because if you change your mind, you can change your body, and ultimately - your life!

Kathleen Lammens is a professional hypnotherapist specializing in permanent weight loss and the internationally recognized author of the groundbreaking new book " ThinStead: The ultimate plan to lose weight, feel great and quit dieting forever", available through Amazon.com. You can also connect with her through her website: http://www.thinstead.com or the Thinstead Facebook fan page.

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