Weight Loss Isn't Easy

Written by Sky Taylor, Diet Bites

Highlighting the Trail to Weight Loss Success

Weight loss should be simple. Basically, we just eat less and lose weight, right?

Well, not quite. There are a few mountains that often block the road leading to weight loss success, and one of the biggest mountains of all may not be a mountain at all - rather the official Food Pyramid.

While the official Food Pyramid is currently our best pattern for a healthy daily diet, many individuals feel like they are lost in Egypt with no trusty camel or oasis in sight.

They stare at the barren desert, forge forward through the blinding sun, yet seem unable of lassoing a daily diet that is both healthy as well as friendly to the waistline.

Unfortunately, the Food Pyramid is filled with many potholes, which is just one reason why it keeps changing shape - and why we do, too.

Making Healthy Choices Doesn't Ensure a Healthy Weight

Because the Food Pyramid is based on food groups rather than calories, unless an individual tracks the amount of calories consumed in their daily diet, they are left blowing in the Diet Wind - the wind so strong at times that an individual struggles against the wailing forces to decrease the numbers on the weight scales.

To show just how wide that gap can be, we created two modules based on the maximum recommended daily servings. Both examples incorporate healthy food choices - picked right off the official Food Pyramid.

All healthy foods are not created equal when it comes to food groups.

A cup of pineapple for breakfast isn't going to equal the calories in a cup of melon.

In fact, even where the food is grown impacts calorie value. A pineapple grown in California will contain different nutrients, as well as a different calorie content than a pineapple grown outside the states.

To further complicate the ability to balance weight, manufacturers enter the picture. Because products are created differently, serving sizes vary for the same food - as well as calorie and nutrient content.

Related Articles

Food Pyramid Diet Index

These examples depict just how out of control the daily diet can become - even when making healthy choices.