How You Should Evaluate A Weight Loss Program

The average person living in a Western country is now obese.  The secondary effects of this weight gain ranges from a decreased ability to be active with family and friends to diseases and illnesses that can be directly attributed to the body’s decreased ability to remain healthy at an increased weight.  The causes of this weight gain can be credited to several different factors which range from the Standard Western diet high in fat and processed foods, decreased exercise, more desk jobs and increased stress in the lives of people.

No matter what the reasons weight loss and increased exercise is the solution.  And because of the increased number of people suffering there are also a plethora of weight loss programs available to meet almost every need you can imagine.  But among those weight loss programs that are legitimate are also those that are unreasonable.

People who are desperate to achieve their goal are often at a higher risk of falling prey to those who would want to take their money without delivering on the promise.  There are some specific criteria to evaluate before you join a weight loss program or determine to follow a particular plan.  Let’s look at those criteria now.

1. Does the program promise quick, rapid, easy and painless weight loss?  Most legitimate weight loss programs won’t make a promise that you will lose weight rapidly because they know that such a thing isn’t possible.  The only promise they may make is that they’ll help you lose it as fast as medically possible.  So if you find a program that promises you’ll be in that bikini in 2 months – don’t walk away – run!

2. Does the program recommend the use of supplements to jump start or maintain weight loss?  Many weight loss programs will recommend using a multi-vitamin because in the process of cutting calories many people may also cut out the necessary vitamins needed to help maintain the functioning of the body.  However, if the program relies on a supplement as the basis of the program then it’s probably not something that you can maintain for any length of time.  And before considering any supplement consider the side effects, the long-term effects and any interactions with medications you may already be taking – such as blood pressure medication and any of the over-the-counter medications you may take for headaches, allergies or pain relief.

3. Does the weight loss program address the mental aspect of losing weight?  However good the program may be if you aren’t prepared for the lifestyle changes and the weight loss then the program won’t help you!  If the program appears to be legitimate and doesn’t make big claims about what you can accomplish but doesn’t have a support mechanism built in you may want to find your own support mechanism to use the program.

4. Does the program advocate incorporating exercise into your daily routine as well as dietary changes?  Research is clear about the health benefits of both.  Those who use both a dietary change and exercise will have better results than those who just cut calories.

Before joining any weight loss program it’s important to evaluate the criteria that make the program healthy and successful.  Those programs that encourage people to make drastic changes to their diet or exercise hours each day, are more than likely not going to be successful because of the amount of will power it would take to maintain the program in the first place.

Take a strong look at how the program will also affect your body and your health.  We are given one body to last this lifetime.  When we take good care of it – it will take good care of us.

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