14 DAY TRIAL // Dieting is such a common practice in today’s society, for both women and men, that we often tend to forget that a stricter alimentary regime, especially if spanning over a longer period of time, can have disastrous effects on our health and, at the same time, quite the opposite effects from what we expect from it. As All Women’s Talk points out, there are three major mistakes that we usually make when starting a new diet, and they should be avoided at all costs if we really want all that work to not be in vain.
The most frequently made mistake, particularly by teen girls who are too desperate to keep up with what their friends are doing to pay attention to long-term effects, is that of starting a diet without first consulting a specialist. Women do tend to pick up stuff from newspapers, magazines and TV shows or, more often than not, from their friends, and then apply it as such. This is all the more true in the case of a new diet, where a pal’s recommendation and guarantee that it has worked for her is more than enough to make them pick it up. However, experts warn that this is something we should learn to rid ourselves of. Given that we all have different physical constitutions, therefore different needs in terms of nutrition, we should first see a doctor and hear what they have to tell us about which dietary plan best suits our needs.
Second in the list of three dieting mistakes we should not make comes dieting alone. As a matter of fact, this is something that truly can’t be stressed enough. While dieting is often seen as the "easy way out," in that we get to lose weight without too much hassle on our part, experts say things stand quite the opposite. A good, appropriate diet must be complemented by an even more appropriate workout because, on its own, it will not have the results we want. Furthermore, when the two are combined (dieting and exercising), the effects are noticeable much quicker and, why not, more pleasing on the eye, in that we are not left to deal with the not-so-attractive sight of saggy skin and stretch marks (more obvious if the weight loss is drastic).
Last but not least in the top three comes the random combination of more diets. In their almost desperate wish to get the best result in the shortest time possible, women often deceive themselves with the idea that, if one diet is good for the body, then the more the better. Not only can this have terrible effects on their bodies, but there is also a pretty good chance that the diets will cancel each other out, experts say, advocating moderation and caution when making the decision of going on two, three or even more dietary regimes.
These being said, we should also remember that doctors tell us that dieting is not a habit that should be encouraged or "indulged in" on a regular basis. As with everything else in life, starting a new diet has to come at the right time, under the right circumstances and, what’s more important, for the right reasons.