Daily weight-taking can stop diets

Some people think that by cutting down on their calorie intake they will be able to lose weight - but this is not the case, at least not according to nutritionist and endocrinologist Dr Seham Beshara al-Ali. Dr Beshara told Arabstoday that by cutting down on calories, dieters could be unwittingly helping destroy their diets. She explained: “When one feels hungry the body maintains energy levels through slowing down the burning process.  The body thinks it’s starving so it will take longer to burn energy.  When the person starts eating normally again, the body cannot return back to its normal speed, resulting in weight-gain. Nutrition specialists advise people to gradually decrease their calorie until it’s at 1200". Dr Beshara continued: "Men often count calories in their food, but forget the calories they get in coffee, tea, and fizzy drinks. The solution is in taking herbal drinks, dieting, natural fruit juices and cutting down on caffeine drinks". Dr Beshara explained why some people give up on diets: "sometimes one feel exited towards food he loves, maybe he existed in some place or getting invited finding different kind of foods so he eats, then think that continuing the died is useless… it is okay to break the rules from time to time but whoever can implement as much as 90% of rules, will success in losing weight." Dr Beshara said person’s emotional state can also greatly affect their diet. If an individual is facing some kind of stress, like changing jobs or moving houses, their diet is more likely to fail. “Physiological studies confirm that some people over-eat when they are experiencing problems.” When trying to implement a diet, some people apply the ‘quantities rule’, in which they allow themselves a treat and punish themselves the next day by a more rigorous work out or less food.  This, she says, is a tactic which does not work. “Sometimes one eats a slice of chocolate gateau, and promises himself that he will lose calories in the next day.  This is wrong - the solution is to decrease the number of calories you take in the day before you go the party,” adding “the same can be said for when a person weights themselves daily.  If you are not seeing a big improvement in your weight, you are more likely to stop the diet.” Dr Beshara concluded by saying that everyone is different and advised people to seek medical advice before implementing a diet, which should suit them and their particular lifestyle.