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The social pressure to achieve the ideal weight and the perfect physique is pushing millions of people around the world to go on diets without any medical or professional supervision. That decision can be devastating to our bodies and also affect our emotional stability. Bigorexia, an obsession with the perfect body. The scientific journal Plos One, an open discussion forum for experts, published by the US Public Library of Science, recently published an investigation conducted by Dr. Ahmed El-Sohemy, professor of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Toronto, Canada, and founder of the biotechnology company Nutrigenomix Inc. The study, which analyzed data from more than 1,400 individuals, said the Blood Type Diet, has no scientific basis.
Indeed, the only way to lose weight is through behavior modification: we must change our habits. A habit is a pattern of conduct, which over time and repetition becomes a non-conscious, almost automatic behavior. And once it becomes a habit, it requires little effort to keep it. See advise for a healthy diet here.
Nutritionist Carmen Pont, pharmacist and dietitian at the Institute of Behavioral Sciences of Seville, Spain, believes that instilling good habits—such as “a varied, balanced and healthy diet” from an early age, will help a child to become a healthy adult with normal weight. Benefits of vegetarian cuisine. “Fats are not the enemy and there are no magic supplements or forbidden foods,” says the Spanish nutritionist. “What really matters is variety and moderation in food, and trying to comply with the rite of five frugal meals a day: breakfast, a mid-morning snack, lunch, an afternoon snack and dinner, accompanied by moderate exercise throughout the day.”
In short, diets are not a panacea. As Professor Freedhoff advises in his book, the principal objective of a diet is to be healthy by balancing our goal of achieving an ideal weight with the will to do it. In other words, the perfect strategy is a change of habits and behaviors. ■