Accentuate the Positive: Essential Dos for Achieving Your Optimum Weight

by Susan Woodward for MSN Health & Fitness

I must lose weight, I must lose weight, I must … Sound familiar? It’s probably the daily mantra of millions of people, but a state of permanent good health eludes most because they cannot move beyond the common response – an endless cycle of damaging yo-yo diets.

What’s the answer then, you ask? Well, one thing we know is that when it comes to obtaining and retaining an ideal body weight, focusing on what you cannot do is decidedly old school. Successful weight loss, experts now agree, resides in focusing on what you can do. In other words, dos over don’ts.

Here are some dos that can help those of you still trudging down the weight-loss road:

• Do examine yourself honestly. Before you begin any diet regimen, discover if you’re truly overweight. To be blunt, many people think they’re fat when they’re not. “The reality is that you’re not going to have the exact same body at 40 that you had at 25,” says Anne Louise Gittleman, author of The Fat Flush Plan.

• Do research. For the past couple of years, scores of diet books have hit The New York Times bestseller list like bees swarming on a hive. The rise in health consciousness is worth applauding but beware of fads. Long-term health requires permanent lifestyle changes. Read widely and get your weight-loss facts straight.

• Do visit a dietitian. “Everyone needs an individual eating plan,” advises Michelle Streif, a personal trainer in Omaha, Neb. “Even though diet plans have good pointers, everyone’s different and a registered dietician can help, especially if you’re on medications.”

• Do eat. Most people need close to a couple thousand calories a day just to live. The trick is to control the quantity so you’re not overeating and to eat the right foods. Choose a mix of healthy protein, carbohydrates and fat – you need them all. And don’t be afraid to add healthy snacks to help keep your metabolism and blood sugars firing. Starving is flat-out dangerous.

• Do control your stress. Stress raises cortisol levels, which in turn lower your metabolic functioning, which is responsible for burning calories. In other words, stress is linked to weight gain, particularly around the stomach, which, besides its unsightliness, is known to put people at an increased risk for certain diseases.

• Do exercise. Dr. Sandra Lewis, a cardiologist in Portland, Ore., lists a litany of benefits: Exercise reduces stress (see above!), anxiety, depression and the risk of heart disease and cancer; it boosts energy, improves self-image, promotes good sleep, and builds fitness; and exercise levels out cholesterol and blood pressure. Additionally, no weight-loss program can properly work without it.

• Do lose weight progressively. Health experts agree that one to two pounds a week is ideal.

• Do set realistic goals. And reflect and possibly modify them as you progress.

• Do get support. “Social support is crucial to any behavior change,” says Dr. Jeff Wilbert, author of Fattitudes. Be wary of saboteurs, and learn to develop your self-care awareness and personal coping mechanisms, too. To borrow a cliché, we are our own best support and worst critic.

• Do listen to your body. Broadly speaking, you should eat when you’re hungry. But make sure the sensation is hunger or you may well fall prey to the habit of eating to fulfill some other emotion (sadness and boredom are common examples).

• Do listen to your mind. Let go of self-defeating thoughts and keep your mind thinking positively. Good health and a trim body shape are yours for the taking!

• Do find inspiration. From role models, your support network, a favorite expression, wherever you can find it.

• Do use common sense. You know what it is.