The Hidden Costs Of Dieting

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The Hidden Costs Of Dieting
Copyright (c) 2006 Marc David

Possibly the most misunderstood part of fitness is
nutrition.

I personally have not heard of the Warrior Diet until
today. But with so many of these programs cropping up,
it's not a shock that I can't keep up with them all. Just
like supplements, somebody has a twist on just about
everything.

Don't get me wrong, some of these diets work and there's a
few exceptions where people are able to stay on them
literally for years!

But first a warning: The REAL reason they say 90% or more
of dieters fail is because the word "diet" itself is a
short-term concept. When you think of your eating habits
as short-term, you are bound to fail and go back to eating
the way you used to.

Here's 3 key concepts you need to consider when thinking
about dieting.

Key Concept #1:

The diet concept sets you up for quick results. When it
comes to the human body, all of us want something for
nothing. We want changes immediately. This attitude
applies to losing fat, building muscles or just getting in
shape.

For starters...

There are no miracle means when it come to good nutrition
practices. With thousands of foods to choose from and
using different food combinations, you can see how easy it
would be to create a variety of diets using multiple
dieting angles.

Many diets can leave the individual's metabolism in a
damaged state simply because so many of these trendy diets
are deficient in important macro- and -micronutrient. More
often than not, they do not provide adequate nutrition for
athletes or individuals who are attempting to get into
better shape and have increased dietary needs.

Believe me, some of them are too low in protein or
carbohydrates to support and athlete and others are much
too high in fat to be healthy.

Fact is: Many dieters end up losing weight (which can be a
combination of water, muscle and fat) initially but end up
gaining it all back and then some. That is extremely
frustrating to the dieter who them embarks on yet another
trendy diet in an effort to lose the weight again.

Sometimes this is referred to "yo-yo" dieting as the person
loses weight, gains more back, loses more and ultimately
just destroys their body's metabolism and frustrates them
to no end.

And that's just the start...

Key Concept #2:

Take a look at a book store shelf at any given time in the
nutrition/health section and you will see a wide variety of
the latest diets. Some have been around for years, others
disappear once the money runs out.

Did you know that anybody can be successful at weight loss
if they eat fewer calories than their body needs?

Many of these diets are made-up with a hidden agenda of an
advertising company, supplement company or somebody else
with serious monetary investments.

Keep in mind that with any of these diets, you should ask
yourself if...

* Does the program integrate physical activity?
* Does the program account for personal preferences based
on lifestyle and career?
* How fast does the program encourage weight loss or
muscle gain?
* Does the program help change negative behaviors into
positive behaviors?
* What kind of professional support is provided?
* What kind of maintenance program is provided?

Finally...

Key Concept #3:

Avoid Them!

Most of these hyped-up, trendy diets are counterproductive
to your goals and could end up harming you. You should
know by now that any nutritional plan must be designed to
meet the needs of the individual (metabolic requirements
and goals). Let's look at just one simple example...

A marathon runner requires much less protein then a
bodybuilder does!

Just by knowing that, you can see that many of these diets
do not take into account the nutritional needs of each
individual.

More recent scientific studies report that the best way to
get into shape is not to overeat, get less than 25% of your
daily calories from fats, have a diet moderate in protein
and complex carbohydrates, eat whole foods rather than
processed, get plenty of fiber and have fruits and
vegetables.

So what's why you can forget about diets and simply learn
how to eat correctly, safely and healthy for the rest of
your life. If you do this, you will be able to burn off
all the fat you want, gain all the muscle you need and
never be on any trendy diet again.

----------------------------------------------------
Marc David is a bodybuilder and author of the, Beginner's
Guide to Fitness and Bodybuilding. You can get info on
Marc's e-book at: http://www.Beginning-Bodybuilding.com To
get Marc's free e-zine, visit http://www.justaskmarc.com

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