Quickie Dieting: Worth It, Or Not?

With the increasing pressure to be thin in today's society, it can sometimes be hard not to give in to the many diets that claim to help you lose five pounds in one week. I am not going to deny that I haven't tried any of these diets, because I have, but you really need to look at the pros and cons to these claims and decide whether or not they are worth it in the end; by no means am I promoting the idea of being unhealthy, as each individual should love their body and focus on being healthy, not "skinny."  I generally decide it's time to get into shape weeks before I am going on a vacation, and feel the need to be "bikini ready;" lets just say it rarely works, but yet I still fall into the same trap every time.

I've tried doing diets where you only eat certain foods, but really it just leaves you craving all of those "forbidden" foods that much more. Although these diets claim to work and detoxify your body, in the end you can't live off of one specific food for your entire life, and that weight will eventually just come right back. Another diet that I thought would work was the meal replacement diet, where you drink shakes rather than eat daily meals. Once again, this diet may work in the short term but in the end you crave certain foods , and the weight is added right back on. In the end, none of these diets are really worth it in the long run. If you only wanted to lose weight for a short period of time they would work, but society should focus on being healthy, not necessarily skinny.

The focus on being healthy is a lot more important than looking the way society feels individuals should look. I am a pretty small person, who people laugh at when I say I wanna lose weight, but in the end it's not about losing weight, it's about feeling healthy and good about myself. The best solution to all of this is not the fad diets that are advertised everywhere, but the idea of just eating healthier in general and eating in moderation, as well as a good amount of physical activity. I absolutely LOVE junk food and that is one of the hardest things to cut out while trying to be healthy, but I always remind myself to just eat them in moderation;  rather than eating a whole bag of chips when I watch TV, just have a handful as it will control my craving just as much as the entire bag. In the end I just focus on picking healthier choices and living life to the fullest.

Created by: Pete Reed

When it comes to the exercise part of being healthy, I am not very good, as I hate going to gyms filled with people and really have no desire to go outside to exercise. I found my best workout friend to be The Biggest Loser for Wii. You get to choose what your goals are, whether you wanna lose weight or gain muscle, and it is quite a tough workout. You can also add in your meals for the day to track your calories consumed vs. calories burned. The best part of the entire game is the fact that is done just like the television show, with weekly weigh-ins and individuals going home; it really helps to keep you motivated.

Last but not least, keeping hydrated is one of the best solutions to keeping healthy, especially while exercising. I am not one to drink lots of water, as I really just do not enjoy it, but it can be so beneficial in feeling healthy and keeping you going all day. Personally, I have found that I need to drink flavored water, such as Crystal Light, but that can get quite expensive in the end. Just like many other individuals, I spend a lot of my spare time browsing Pinterest, which is where I found my replacement for plain water. Jillian Michael's, from the Biggest Loser, has a recipe that is meant to help lose water weight, but I completely enjoy the drink and have made it my replacement for water. The recipe for the drink is as follows:

• 60 oz. of water
• 1 tablespoon of sugar free cranberry juice
• 1 dandelion root tea bag (I substitute green tea, which is much easier to find)
• 2 tablespoons of lemon juice

In the end the most important thing is the focus to be healthy and live your life to the fullest, but as someone who has tried many of the fad diets, I would focus on what makes you happy and not what society tells you should make you happy. Eating healthy makes me feel like a million bucks and no matter what people say, it makes me happy.