The wrong way to try and lose weight

For those of us trying to lose weight, we are tempted by less than noble means of achieving said weight loss, including taking up a vice, purging, starvation, and over exercising.  For that reason, I decided to put together a list of these temptations, discuss ways in which they can ruin your body and your mind, and provide you with alternatives.

Smoking
If, like me, you were once a smoker, quit, and gained weight as a result, it is tempting to pick up the habit once again.  After battling the bulge, you find yourself weighing the pros and cons of such an action.  The people at QuitSmoking.com advise that nicotine as an appetite suppressant, burns on average 200 calories per day, and boosts metabolism.  In return for these weight loss aids, you raise your risk of heart disease, stroke, emphysema, and your clothes stink.  I have heard people say, "I'm just going to smoke long enough to get to my ideal weight and then I will quit again."  Smoking is a filthy habit and not a means to weight loss.  Before you start smoking again, consider engaging in 30 minutes of vigorous exercise each day.  This should help burn those extra 200 calories.  Eat 6-9 small meals instead of 3 large meals to boost your metabolism.  Finally, chew sugar free gum when you feel a snack attack coming on.  This should help with the food cravings that smoking once staved off.

Purging
I imagine that there are few overweight girls who have not at least entertained the idea losing weight by purging, whether by sticking a toothbrush down your throat after every meal or using a purging aid like Ipecac.  Purging can lead to eating disorders, rotting teeth, gum disease, heart failure, and death.  People who are not diagnosed with a purging disorder, like bulimia nervosa, tend to entertain the idea of purging after an especially large meal.  The next time you are tempted to purge, do what Mireille Guiliano suggests in her book French Women Don't Get Fat.  Guiliano points out that only in America do we starve ourselves all day long in order to indulge at night.  In France, she advises that men and women eat normally throughout the day, indulge, and make restitution the next day. 

Over Exercising
Can you over exercise, you ask?  The answer is an emphatic "yes!"  Over exercising has a number of undesirable side effects.  For one, over exercising can cause you to over eat.  New research being conducted at a number of labs and universities shows that when people push themselves too hard at the gym, they have a tendency to up their caloric intake.  Furthermore, over exercising can make the body prone to fatigue and injury.  The next time you find yourself with a entire day on your hands that you plan to dedicate to the gym, consider breaking you workout into 5 sizable daily workouts with 2 days of rest.  Another solution to the problem of over exercising is to skip the gym and use the day to hike a trail.  North Carolina is filled with wonderful state and national parks. 

Starvation
"I'm just not going to eat any more!"  Every time I have ever heard this, I just roll my eyes.  Very few people can sustain starvation for an extended period of time.  Furthermore, starvation risks bodily damage, fatigue, disorientation, and death.  If you are able to sustain a period of starvation and lose weight, you will quickly gain it back as your body begins to think that it just survived a famine.  It will cling desperately to each pound that you put back on.  If you feel that you must starve yourself, consider a ritual fast.  Most religions advocate a form of moderate self deprivation that includes prayer, meditation, and spiritual growth as well as a reduced caloric intake.