Guest Article by Benazir Fateh

Dieting is often confused as the best way to lose weight and is mistakenly the most popular method adopted by the teenagers especially girls. As the common perception of dieting goes, it is considered equivalent to skipping meals which is absolutely wrong.  You can transform yourself into a slimmer healthier YOU by a adopting a combination of exercise and healthy eating habits. And like all good things in life this takes some patience and perseverance.  Nothing comes easy; after all staying in shape is a multimillion dollar industry .

Research shows that dieting does not work. “You can initially lose 5 to 10 percent of your weight on any number of diets, but then the weight comes back.  Diets do not lead to sustained weight loss or health benefits for the majority of people.”( source)

Our body is designed such that it metabolizes everything we eat.  A faster metabolism means your body can burn calories faster. If you diet wrongly meaning you skip meals, your body perceives it as a loss of the source of food. It starts thinking that there is a scarcity of food and hence it must store whatever you ate. This results in slow metabolism which is the opposite of what you want.

Moreover, it is accompanied with problems like stomach aches, acidity, headaches and loss of concentration. It also gives you dark circles around eyes and a drained out look on your face.  So while you do want to fit into that size 0 lehenga for the upcoming wedding of your friend, you certainly do not want to top it off with a famished, glow less face.  And a few days into dieting, you feel extreme cravings for greasy and fatty food. If you give in to those cravings, you gain the little amount of weight you lost.

So instead of skipping meals, you should try and eat healthy every three to four hours in a day. This way you trick your body into faster metabolism. The choice of foods to eat greatly impacts the “getting in shape” process. Choose among fruits, lots of greens and drink lots of water.

Along with healthy eating habits, exercising is what makes you lose weight. A carefully drafted regimen of moderate eating with exercise helps you stay healthy and in shape lifelong.  Exercising does not have to be done in a gym.  Simple exercises like walking, jogging and yoga etc. can be done in and around your house and they have been proven to be effective methods for weight loss.

So shrug that dieting idea off your mind and get into exercise mode if you want to lose weight and keep it off.

About Author

Benazir Fateh is pursuing her PhD from Iowa University, United States. She is an avid reader, a passionate writer and loves cooking.

Image Credit: PetitPlat Food Art – Stephanie Kilgast