NO MORE DIETS!

Diets. Not only they're extremely dangerous, they're boring and meant to be broken. I was overweight from a very young age (about 10) and was dieting since age 12.  Tried all major diets from the grapefruit, to the 1 meal a day-diet, and many prescription and non prescription drugs (I remember one made me poop orange liquid grease).  Always bounced back to being overweight and with a couple of pounds more, every time.  In 2008 I had a laparoscopic surgery to remove my gallbladder,  which was not normal for a 27 year old.  When the doctor asked if I was on and off diets, I realized the damage I've caused to my body because of these elusive diets and their consequences.  Turns out diets are made to keep us overweight.


Hydrogenated Oils

Basically anything labeled as "Fat Free", "Light", "Cholesterol Free", etc. Are made with hydrogenated oils.  READ the labels and avoid products containing this ingredient (or ingredients? I don't know how to put it because in the labels they often refer to it as a single ingredient, when it can have dozens of materials in it). In a nutshell, hydrogenated oils are the product of taking a good, vegetable oil, heating it to hundreds and even thousands of degrees and inserting metals like aluminum or nickel. The result is a product that is one molecule away from plastic. Pretty gross.  

Sodium

Another common mistake in diets are the over consumption of processed (diet) foods.  These are all canned and frozen-prepared-microwave ready foods, dressings, sauces, etc.  In order to preserve these foods and prevent them from spoiling, they're taken way far away from their natural state by loading it with different kinds of sodium compounds (not only salt).  You need to be on the lookout for monosodium glutamate, sodium benzoate, sodium saccharin and sodium nitrate, and sodium NITRITE. I live with and take care of a stroke (cva) patient caused by hypertension which is caused by high levels of sodium in the blood, trust me, you do not want this.

Sugar Free stuff
They're even claimed to cause diabetes! Diet "foods" are sweetened with chemical byproducts like aspartame, saccharin, sucralose, sorbitol and malitol.  They're not only toxic, they stay longer in your body, turning rancid which leads to organ failure, weight GAIN and cancer.

Stress
Whenever you want to start a diet you begin to stress.  You don't want to start right away, you schedule it for a Monday, call a friend or co-worker to join you so that you don't feel alone and bored with your salad, and you start feeling sad for all the stuff you're letting go.  This is the first mistake everyone goes through when they want to loose weight, stressing over a diet.  Adding stress to an already stressful life will not let you loose weight, in fact, it will make you gain weight, among many other health complications.  This is caused by the over secretion of cortisol (hormone).  Being in a mental jail of restrain and guiltiness will not only prevent you from loosing weight, it can result in a serious health problem.

Solutions (yay)

• always choose the natural state of anything you'll eat (want orange juice? get some oranges (in season) and squeeze your own).
• eliminate processed foods while incorporating fresh fruits, veggies and meats.
• do not say or think about the word "diet". ever.
• drink more water.
• replace diet soft drinks with fresh fruits and canned veggies for fresh ones.
• eat more home-made foods and take leftovers to work for lunch. 
• join cooking show web pages, blogs, etc.
• take a walk (outside).
• have a big breakfast every day.
• do not ever never eat and go to sleep right away! wait for at least an hour and add 1/2hr until you're at 2.5-3hrs. (when you do this, you'll get the "big breakfast" thing)
• never feel guilty about eating that homemade double cheeseburger with home fries!!! :D

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