Most people have heard of dietitians as experts who tell them how to lose weight and what to ‘not eat’! Many people visit dietitians as a last-ditch effort in their fight against the mighty flab.

A dietitian is much more than that. He or she is a diet expert who can give you the lowdown on the food you eat and its influence on your body. Dietitians have become more and more significant today because most people have forgotten the simple art of healthy eating. Since there is an increasing inclination to eat food straight out of a can or a wrapper, many of us don’t have a clue about what they are putting into their stomachs.

Healthy eating patterns and a healthy lifestyle are the cornerstones of good health. Health problems do not usually begin from a single occurrence in life. They originate from a combination of things. Food is one of the most important factors that lead to health problems.

According to Employment News sources, the employment of dietitians is expected to grow ‘faster than average’ as a direct result of increasing emphasis on disease control and prevention through improved dietary habits. People today are more aware of the harmful side effects of medication. They are also slowly waking up to the fact that most of their ailments are caused by unhealthy food habits and wrong lifestyle choices. Thus more and more people are migrating towards holistic healing techniques.

Holistic healing emphasizes that the body is in good health when there is a free flow of energy through the body. This flow gets blocked when there is an imbalance in the body, and this causes ‘dis-ease’. Many of the imbalances found in the human body are directly related to diet, stress and incorrect posture. It is significant to note that ALL forms of traditional medicine usually come with strict dietary restrictions. They emphasize the importance of a prudent lifestyle and good nutrition.

A qualified dietitian undertakes different job obligations depending on his capacity and training. Clinical dietitians play an important role in hospitals, working extensively with doctors on deciding treatment techniques and charting out a patient’s diet needs. Community dietitians work in public and home health agencies. Consultant dietitians have their own private practice through which they teach and advise on diet-related matters including proper nutrition, weight loss and food intake.

Dietitians are taught to fully understand the science of nutrition and separate the myths from facts. A qualified dietitian also knows his way around food products. While he many not be a gourmet chef, he will know enough about food products, their production and preparation. He can thus give you realistic advice that is custom-made to suit your individual lifestyle.

Nursing mothers, recuperating patients, growing children and pregnant women have certain dietary needs that are over and above the usual. A dietitian is qualified to give the right advice to such people. Even ordinary people can correct the faulty practices in their eating habits by consulting a dietitian.

With the immense importance placed on food, exercise and diet by the media and society in general, an overwhelming amount of information is available through newspapers, internet and magazines. But all the information you find need not be accurate. A dietitian can help separate facts from fads.

If you have been struggling with your oodles of fat and have jumped from one diet to another, don’t despair. You’re not the only one. Research suggests that obesity is the number one killer of Americans and that more than 85% of men, women and children in the U.S have tried one or more methods of weight loss in their lifetimes.

Why is weight loss so difficult to achieve? To answer this question, we have to see why obesity has become so rampant today. Obviously, fast foods, over-indulgence, alcohol and a sedentary lifestyle have succeeded in creating a generation of people who are too fat for their own good. As a result, we are stuck with diseases like:

Many diseases of the modern age including various aches and pains are a direct result of being overweight. Therefore many healing systems advocate weight loss as the first step towards cure.

Tried it all, and still at a loss? Weight loss does not come in a pill or in a special diet program. The media have managed to take advantage of this common problem and come up with various miracle pills and magic diet programs that promise weight loss easily.

But the truth of the matter is that weight loss needs hard work and dedication. Permanent weight loss happens only if there is a radical change in lifestyle. People who take to diet programs and lose weight immediately put on their lost pounds and then some more when they come off their diet. Therefore, the only way out is to work the diet program into your life.

Weight loss depends on two things:
- Healthy and consistent diet, and
- Exercise

Weight loss and diet

Fad diets are NOT the best ways to weight loss, although they promise the sky. Keep off them. Fad diets usually recommend doing away with a particular kind of food or sticking to one kind of food only. The initial results of these diets may be amazing. But any weight loss thus acquired is minimal and very transient. Besides, fad diets are unhealthy because you will be robbing your body of vital nutrients.

Research suggests that losing 1-2 pounds a week through healthy food choices and through moderation is the best way towards weight loss. The mathematics here is quite simple really. The more calories you put in, the more pounds you have to carry. So in order to achieve weight loss, you need to burn more calories than you are putting in.

Weight loss and exercise
There is no permanent and healthy weight loss if you do not follow a consistent exercise program. To be effective, an exercise program has to be:
- Regular
- Be at least 30 minutes every day 5 days a week
- Mixture of aerobic and muscle training programs

Weight loss in itself is an ambiguous term. Weight management would be a better definition. You want to lose excess fat and convert some of the fat into lean muscle. While you lose weight you have to protect your body, avoid loss of muscle mass and prevent depletion of bone mass. A sensible exercise program, taken up after consulting a doctor and a fitness expert coupled with pragmatic and sensible eating habits is the only way to achieve permanent weight loss.

Click here to read more about Dieting and Weight Loss

PLEASE NOTE: Natural-Earth.com does not necessarily endorse any of the natural health and healing treatments and therapy in the natural health, natural medicine and lifestyles directory. The material on this web site has been provided for your information and we urge you to be discriminating in making your choice of natural health and healing. We wish you Good Luck... and Good Health.