Unfortunately, these are the types of things we see in our society every day; shortcuts to weight-loss. The simple fact of the matter is that all of these "miracle diets" don't work for long. The companies behind all of these weight-loss secrets are just in business to make money, and the United States is a prime market for them. According to the American Heart Association, "among Americans age 20 and older, 149.3 million are overweight or obese (BMI of 25.0 and higher)." This is an epidemic that has grown tremendously over the years, and it frightens me. These people are really struggling with their health and all these companies want to do is make money off of them, when their products are most likely to not work. I know this because I've dealt with my own weight issues. I've tried plenty of those highly marketed diets, supplemental pills, protein shakes, meal replacement products, and more. Never have I had results with these things. It never occurred to me that I was yo-yo dieting. I would loose a couple of pounds, then gain it back..plus more! And then the cycle would repeat; over and over again.
It was when I went to my doctor in August of 2010 to get a few blood tests that my eyes were opened. (And even then it took over a year to get it all together!) I got the news no one wants to hear. I was 17, and the doctor had come to tell me that my LDL (bad) Cholesterol was very high, and that my HDL (good) Cholesterol was too low. That's not anything a teenager wants to hear! I knew that the path I was going down was not a good one. I had to change what I was doing. But I knew it had to be more complicated then 30 minutes of cardio 3-4 times a week and tracking what I ate. So the next round of doing weight-loss the wrong way came along.
That year I gained about 30 pounds, especially within the last few months of 2011. I hit the Freshman 30...and I was even living at home with good food to choose from! The time was now. My health and well-being were counting on me to get in shape and get that weight off. So I decided to start doing what my doctor told me to do over a year ago. I got a gym membership and started working out. It took me a while to start seeing results...about 4 months to be exact. I was getting really frustrated that I wasn't loosing any weight and was about to quit. But then I realized that I couldn't quit another time; especially the time I was trying to lose the way my own doctor recommended! July 2012 is when I finally lost the first couple of pounds. It was such a victory, even though it was small, to know that I was that much closer to being a more healthy me!
Fast-forward to September 2012. I am currently down 18 pounds, and it's only getting easier and easier. I am such a gym rat and a health freak! I keep track of every single thing I put in my mouth and am at the gym 4-5 times a week for about 45 minutes. I'm not following the latest and greatest diet, I'm changing my lifestyle and how I do things. Diets are just temporary, and so is the weight loss that comes with it. It's realizing that in order to stay healthy and live longer, you have to change your attitude, and your waistline will go right with it!
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