Diets Do Work! Six Steps to Making Any Diet Work For You

With so many scores of people going on the latest fad diet only to gain all the weight back, you may think that diets don’t actually work. Well, Diets Do Work, but you must realise  that diets are designed to cater to a specific lifestyle.

Going on a diet usually produces mixed results. In the beginning, you cannot help the amount of weight you lose. It just seems to melt away with very little effort.

Then, as you reach your desired goal weight and revert back to your ‘normal’ eating pattern, the weight seems to slowly return until you realise that you’re back to where you first started, with a little extra for added measure.

The fact that you lost weight in the first place proved that Diets Do Work! So, why did you gain back all the weight you lost and then some, making the whole weight loss journey a frustrating experience?

Well, first you must realise that the foods you ate to contribute to those extra pounds is essentially your diet. It’s what you have been following for a long time.

Chances are that your choices have not been the best and given your lifestyle – quick lunches and processed meals with little nutritional content – you are probably consuming more calories than you are using in your daily activities.

So, if you chose to go on a diet, you need to make fundamental changes to your current food choices that will allow you to maintain these new food choices long term.

The reason why people are always on and off diets is because they have chosen a short term solution to a lifetime change.

Losing weight and keeping if off is not a seven day quick fix solution. You need to change the habits that have so far contributed to your excess weight and replace them with better choices, choices that can be sustained over a long period of time. And most important, these lifestyle changes, although hard at first, must fit within your way of life. If not, it’s going to be hard to see any long term success.

And, you will need to include one other important element in your weight loss strategy…exercise!

Whatever your visions are about exercise, it does not have to include expensive gym membership, long gruelling workouts with a personal trainer or running 10K races.

Walking to the corner store instead of taking the car, walking the dog early in the morning or joining a walking club is all that’s needed to make exercise a long term part of your weight loss plan.

Coupled together with good food choices, you will find that exercise will accelerate your weight loss more quickly than just by eating alone and will be key to your long term goal of maintaining your desired weight.

Here are the six steps to reaching and maintaining your ideal weight to suit your lifestyle.

1. Exercise is key. At least 30 minutes, three times a week, walking or doing an activity that gets the heart rate up, such as an exercise DVD.
2. Drink plenty of water to stay well hydrated, especially before and after exercise. Limit your intake of drinks which contain caffeine and artificial sweeteners. They can really affect your mood.
3. Eat small smaller meals more often throughout the day rather than the traditional ‘3 square meals’ a day. Think more of grazing all day rather than overeating at meal times.
4. Snack on fruits and nuts. Avoid sugary snacks, rich deserts and pastries. The sugar rush will give you a quick energy rush, but you will crash quickly and feel drained of all energy.
5. Don’t skip breakfast. Having a good start to the day is important and you’re likely to make better eating choices during the day.
6. Enjoy eating! Take time to chew your food and absorb the taste rather than eating hurriedly. You’ll find it takes longer to finish your meal and you actually feel like you had something to eat.