What do we mean by the see saw diet?

You LOSE WEIGHT - but then it can all go on again - depressing isn't it. Why? Let's see.

You've stuck to your diet and virtue has finally been rewarded. You've lost weight and the dream of wearing a small size has become a wonderful reality. The days of being a fattie are over and you look forward to the lean years and all their delights. Then, suddenly, something goes horribly wrong. The scales begin to creep relentlessly up and almost before you know it, you're back where you started.

The seesaw syndrome has struct again. Nearly all of us have suffered from this depressing phenomenon - for some people, it actually becomes a way of life. They develop a pattern of losing weight successfuly, putting it back on again, slimming again, putting weight on.. Some even set aside times of the year when they know they will be slimming, such as before summer holidays, or after Christmas.

So how do you break the seesaw habit and stay slim for good?

It's important to realise how silly it is to put yourself through torture for a few weeks and then enjoy yourself, only to feel miserable and guilty and have to start torturing yourself again. It also takes determination and willpower to break the seesaw cycle for good.

Many people who enjoy fattening cakes, chips, sweets and puddings feel that their usual diet is 'normal' but none of these foods is necessary for health. Having made the decision to slim, many people want to lose weight as quickly as possible. They go on drastic diets and rapidly lose weight. But when crash diets alarm the body, it responds by slowing down it's metabolism. Consequently, you put weight on more easily when you start eating normally again. So, each time you go on a drastic diet, you actually make it harder to lose weight.

We obtain most of our calories from fat, which is bad for our health, as well as for slimming. Indeed, recent research has shown that the most effective way to slim, and stay slim, is to cut back on saturated fat, which we do on all of the Super Slim eating plans.

Instead of eating whole milk, butter, lard and so on, we should replace these with more vegetables, skimmed milk, low-fat cheese and unsaturated spreads and oils. Too much red meat should be avoided and replaced with more fish (not fried) and chicken without the skin. If high fat foods are restricted to occasional treats, you can carry on eating normally in other respects and still lose weight. In fact the researchers concluded that cutting back on fat was more effective than cutting back on carbohydrates.

Make a habit of eating more high-fibre foods, such as wholemeal bread, pulses, fresh fruit and vegetables. You will feel fuller, so you won't be tempted to nibble in between meals. Many experts now believe that it's this 'in-between meals' nibbling which stops people from keeping weight off. They just don’t realise how many calories they are consuming. So take your diet one day at a time. Recognise that you might slip now and then, but it's not the end of the world. of us eat Gradually changing the whole family's eating habits may be necessary if you're to stay slim.

At Super Slim our aim is to teach you healthy eating habits that you can adopt for the rest of your life, not just a quick fix to get you to target weight. Then you can break your old habits of see saw dieting.