"Dieting" Toture By Another Name, It Doesn't Need To Be That Way
By: Paul Freemantle

I have tried many “diets” here in the USA and in England and to me they all felt like self inflicted torture. They were boring, tasteless, and restrictive. Like many of you I work hard, I don’t ask for much in the way of pleasures when I get home at night. The one thing that does give me enormous pleasure is eating, I love food and yes, I like the odd drink too.

I was not and never have been a very large person, 186lb at 5’8” tall. Not huge but always feeling bloated, I had the “carry on luggage” hanging over the belt and always felt tired and lethargic. Then one day my wife and I heard about the Atkins torture, I mean, diet. I thought what the heck; I might as well give it a go. Well, to my surprise I lost weight and I lost it quite quickly, I still lacked energy but nevertheless I was very impressed. It was like every man’s dream come true, meat, meat, and more meat, and losing weight. I was doing well but yes you probably guessed it, I got bored, bored, bored. The weight went back on far quicker than it came off. I have learned that most if not all diets will help you lose weight. The trick is being able to stick to it.

Like all the other diets I had tried, Atkins was restrictive, repetitive and after a while tasteless. To be fair to the other diets I had tried, including Atkins, there are recipes that can help to ease the pain but who wants to start experimenting with their culinary talents when they get in from a hard day at the office. I can tell you now, I do not. I know it sounds great having steak every day but we have all heard the saying “too much of a good thing” and very quickly that “good thing” can turn into a very bad thing. Atkins almost put me off steak for life!

Now I am losing weight again and I am down to 172lb, I know it’s only 14lb or a “stone” as we say in England but I am not bored, I feel great, and when I get in from work at night I eat what I want. How I hear you all cry, well I will tell you; I found a way of giving my body the nutrition it needs to stay healthy and I have been able to lose weight at the same time.

I started using and then marketing an all natural nutritional program that incorporates weight loss for those that need it, weight gain for those that want it and many other beneficial products for skin health, major organ health and male and female personal health solutions.

Many people get stuck in the boom and bust cycle. We have all tried many diets but most of us have failed. Ask yourselves a question and answer honestly. What caused you to fail? If you are being honest you must answer “will power” All of the diets I have tried have caused me to lose weight. I cannot say they were not effective at achieving this. I can say however that they were boring and restrictive and that the boredom probably did not help my chances of sticking to the diet. I am not without some will power but as they say “Variety is the spice of life”.

As I said earlier I love food and the thing I like most about it is the sheer variety of foods available. I do not want to have to pick and choose what I am and am not allowed to eat. Since myself and my family moved to the USA we have been able to eat out more times in the last five years than I was able to do in England in the previous thirty. The cost of eating out here is so much more affordable. I am like a kid in the candy store, I love it. Unfortunately that makes putting on weight very easy, and so the diet cycle begins.

Of course any sensible attempt at weight loss has to have an element of sacrifice, we have to eat a sensible amount of food while at the same time supplying our bodies with all of the vitamins and nutrients that it needs but the goals that we set ourselves must be attainable otherwise we doom ourselves to failure. Do we need to eat meat and nothing else? Do we have to eat salad and nothing else? Does anyone out there honestly think that microwave meals are satisfying?

Being overweight is now being linked with many health problems, heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, the list goes on. It is also well documented that obesity is the fastest growing health problem on the planet. It is crucial that overweight people who wish to lose weight are encouraged and helped to break the vicious cycle of eating and dieting. Let me say this “you are not alone”.

I often see overweight people who are obviously desperate to lose weight forcing themselves to jog around the streets in a desperate attempt to burn calories. If they understood what harm they are doing to their joints and heart they probably would not attempt this form of exercise. I am not saying do not exercise but we must make sure we are fit enough for exercise. If you are carrying far too much excess weight then you will do yourself more harm than good. Start by getting the food and nutrient intake under control and incorporate some light exercise such as walking then as you begin to lose weight you can start to gradually increase the amount and intensity of the workout.

Most of the overweight people I have seen jogging are probably doomed to failure because they cannot possibly be enjoying the torture of forcing their bodies to do something that, lets face it, has been totally alien to it for years. Start slowly, that is the key. Do not expect instant results, the quick fix does not exist. It took time to get out of shape it will take time to get back in shape. Be patient.

If overweight people are ever to be able to lose weight and keep the weight off they must look for a more scientific way of maintaining healthy, nutritional eating patterns. Help is out there, there is an army of very dedicated people, who were all customers once, just like me, that are now helping thousands of people lose weight and become healthier, happier people.

These people understand that proper nutrition is the key to a healthier life. They understand that the never ending cycle of torturous dieting or joint busting exercise simply does not work for most of us and are nearly always doomed to failure. Some people are very strong willed and can stick to even the most demanding of diets to achieve their goals. I am afraid that like many people out their, I am not one of those people.

If you are like me and do not possess a will of iron, get help. It will change your life as it has changed mine.

Do yourself and your loved ones a huge service. Choose a nutritional program you can stick to without destroying your taste buds.

You won’t regret it. Oh and by the way, it definitely is not boring!

Paul Freemantle
Independent Herbalife Distributor
Personal wellness mentor

For more information please visit WWW.WANNAFEELGR8.US

About The Author Paul Freemantle emigrated to the USA five years ago with his wife of 24 years and three daughters. He is living the american dream and is now running his own Herbalife distributorship

This article was posted on July 28, 2004

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