Give A Fish, or Teach to Fish?!

You know the saying, "give a guy a fish and feed him for a day, teach him to fish and he can eat forever." (I know that isn't exactly the saying but I can't remember how it goes. You get my drift I hope)

This is where I run into the problem with this HCG cleanse/diet, and the diet pills. I feel like for some people maybe the jump start would be worth it, given that they have the necessary information to maintain their loss. What I think is more likely to happen with these get skinny quick methods however is that people lose the weight and maybe keep it off for a little while, but as soon as they go back to their old habits the weight slowly, or quickly comes back on.

I think that with every new experience, with each new tid bit of knowledge we gain we put a feather in our hat. Maybe we use those feathers frequently, or maybe we wont use them for months or years. But they are still there, accessible when we feel we need them.

The problem with limiting yourself to a minute amount of calories, or spending four hours a day at the gym, is that it is nearly impossible to maintain. We all go through periods of time where we might be more "serious" about weight loss, during which that period is easier for us to lose weight and keep it off. But then we cycle back, maybe something gets stressful, maybe we have a child, or lose a family member, or whatever it might be... and then we find that old habits die hard. Does that mean that I am immune to this same cycle because I have worked my ace off in the gym and eaten healthy food to lose my 20 pounds? No it doesn't. But it means that maybe I will be a little less likely to get off the bandwagon, and stay off of it because my brain is going to remember the amount of work, time and dedication I put in to get where I am today.

I feel like the HCG diet (while I know for the 6 weeks or however long your cycle is, is very grueling) or diet pills are kind of a cheaters way out. Don't get me wrong. I know several people who have done/are doing both. One in particular is Jared's cousin, who lost 30 pounds in the HCG craze. She looks AMAZING and has kept her weight off for several months. I hope she will be able to maintain that, and I have the guess that she will because she knows that in order to do that she has to bust her butt and can't eat everything she wants all the time. But for the majority of people, I think you are wasting your money. I think you will feel so much more inspired and so much more of a sense of accomplishment if you DO IT YOURSELF! With out the aids of a pill, that may or may not be safe, with out the use of an injection that may or may not be safe. Is it really worth risking your health later down the line to be skinny now?! Remember when ephedra (don't know how to spell it) was legal, and even safe to buy at Walmart? Well, not so good anymore... it has been linked to all sorts of health problems for people later. I know someone in particular who is still involved in a legal case with it because they think her heart is messed up from it.

I think that everything in moderation is a great rule to live by. We can all maintain moderate exercise for the rest of our lives, and we can all maintain moderate eating for an eternity. I think the best way, is the natural way! And I also think we deserve to brag a little, that we are doing it the natural way. Ya that's right!!! I think I am a little cooler (ok, A LOT) because I have busted my butt to lose this weight!!