After Diet Comes Diet

Judging from the recent statistical data in relation to the
exponential increase of overweight and obese people worldwide,
a lot of individuals who feel unhappy with their bodies, even
when it is objectively considered to belong to the normal
scale, follow some kind of weight-loss diet plan and stick with
it forever. Others, probably happier people than the previous
group, if they decide to follow a weight-loss diet plan they do
it for a specific period and stop when the goal is attained.
But, dieticians find it imperative that upon the successful
completion of any weight-loss plan, the individual that has
managed to loose the desired weight has to follow a maintenance
diet that will assist them to avoid putting the lost weight back
on. Usually, this stage is twice as long in duration in
comparison to the initial weight-loss plan followed.

The stage of preserving your "new" body figure is a specific
time period during which the person that followed a weight-loss
diet plan has to continue paying attention on the quantity and
the frequency of the meals he/she consumes, so as to manage to
keep the new fit and healthy looking body type. During this
period of time the individual "learns" again how and what to
eat or avoid and this continues up until the moment that it is
feasible to select the adequate amount of food as this process
has now become natural. The hardest a weight-loss plan was and
the longer it lasted, the longer will the maintenance stage be.
In average, this preservation diet plan lasts one to two months,
during which the weight fluctuates a bit before stabilizing on a
specific and desired weight. That is the reason why experts
advice a person that decides to follow a weight-loss plan to
loose 3 to 5 pounds more than their goal, since these extra
lost pounds are going to be added again to his/her weight
during the maintenance stage.

The success of a diet does not depend solely on the outcome,
meaning the actual number of pounds lost, but rather on the
ability of the person to keep the "new" weight number stable in
the future. Thus, the maintenance stage is considered to be a
crucial stage for the total successful outcome of a weight-loss
effort. During this stage, since the individual is happy with
the results of his/her efforts and does not have any more to
carry the stress of the effort, it is actually the best period
to train the body to eat healthy and develop a nutritional
consciousness. If one cannot learn to eat right at this stage
it will probably never be feasible for them to learn.

According to dieticians and other nutritional experts the
maintenance stage is extremely important. If a person that has
avoided certain types of foods is again free to taste whatever
he or she likes, then the weight lost will be again gained and
the whole effort will be a waste. By following simple rules and
setting limits to oneself and tangible goals, people can gain
control over their weight and can be optimistic about keeping
it steady in the future.

About The Author: Jonathon Hardcastle writes articles for
http://foodandourlives.com/ - In addition, Jonathon also writes
articles for http://fitness-talk.net/ and
http://ihealthstation.net/

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