Top 10 Tips for Choosing a Successful Diet Plan
Copyright (c) 2006 Debbie Fontana
Going on a new diet usually ranks about as high as going to the dentist.
You know you need to do it. But you procrastinate because your past experiences have been so unpleasant. Even torturous.
But there's one big difference between going to a dentist and going on a diet. The results from the dentist usually last.
So why don't the results of a diet usually last?
Because you have to eat several times every day. So if the only way to keep the weight off is a diet that seems as torturous as a trip to the dentist, is it any surprise most of us fail repeatedly?
I believe you'll have a greater chance for long-term success if you enjoy your weight loss program.
So here are my top 10 tips for choosing a successful diet plan:
1.
You Have to Be Able to Live With Your Diet And Have a Life With It.
This is absolutely the most important tip.
If your diet seems like torture, if the food gives you no pleasure, if you're making yourself and everyone around you miserable, then you'll have trouble losing all the weight you want and keeping it off.
You have to make long-term changes in your eating habits to succeed with weight loss. So whatever you do to lose weight initially should be similar to how you keep it off.
That means you have to eat foods you enjoy. You have to be able to socialize at food-based events. You have to be able to enjoy life.
2. You Should Lose No More Than 2 Pounds a Week.
Sometimes, you may lose a little more at the beginning.
But week-to-week, 2 pounds is enough. Anything more is unhealthy.
3. Your Diet Shouldn't Be Extreme in Any Way.
Unless your doctor advises you otherwise, it's unhealthy to eliminate entire food groups. A balanced diet provides vitamins and minerals to keep you strong.
So skip the diets with low-carb, all grapefruit, or whatever the latest fad is. Extreme diets usually don't work.
At least not for very long.
4. You Should Have Minimal or No Hunger.
If you're losing only 1 or 2 pounds a week, you shouldn't experience tremendous hunger. Not if you plan your meals and snacks correctly.
5. You Should Have Lots of Food Choices.
There's no reason to restrict the kinds of food you eat week to week. I've never understood plans that say in Week 1, you can only eat these 10 foods.
In Week 2, you can add another 5 foods. But if you gain weight, go back to Week 1.
If your diet doesn't work with every food from Day One, it's probably not going to work. Period.
6. You Should Be Able to Enjoy the Holidays.
If your diet doesn't build in holiday eating, you're going to do it anyway. You'll just ruin your diet.
That's why so many people start diets in January - after the holidays.
Trouble is, the holidays always roll around later in the year. So you need to have a way to handle them.
7. Your Diet Has to Allow for Moments of Weakness.
Perfect diets are for perfect people. But there are no perfect people. So a perfect diet is destined to fail.
8.
You Shouldn't Have to Exercise with the Diet To Lose Weight.
I'm not saying you shouldn't exercise. We all know exercise is healthy and it makes you feel good.
But the benefits of exercise should be a bonus. Not a necessary part of a diet plan.
After all, what if you become unable to exercise for some reason?
Or suppose you stop losing weight on your diet plan and you haven't reached a reasonable target weight. If the only way to start losing again is to exercise more, then the diet's not working.
9. You Should Get All the Information You Need When You Start the Diet.
If someone sells you a diet and you have to go back week after week to get more information, they're just trying to make money off of you.
There's no reason why Week 1 should be substantially different from Week 9.
And when you pay your money, you should know what the entire diet system is about. How else can you evaluate if it's going to work for you?
10. You Should Control the Diet.
The diet shouldn't control you. By this, I mean that your diet should meet your needs and wants.
Strict rules just increase your chance of failure.
For example, if you like to snack in the evening, but your diet eliminates eating after 7PM, how are you most likely to fail on your diet?
That's right. By snacking in the evening.
But everyone has different needs and wants.
So you have to be able to customize a diet to meet yours. Then you're more likely to succeed.
And of course, before starting any weight loss program, you should see your doctor to make sure your diet is right for you.
.
The Big Three in Weight Loss
Copyright 2006 Adam Waxler
Many fad diets have come and gone over the years. Most are forgotten by all but those who might have lost weight, gained weight or been damaged by them. Some of these fad diets were so unhealthy that medical America issued warnings about just how dangerous they actually were.
Weight loss is a national obsession. If you ever watch television, listen to the radio, surf the internet, shop, or do just about anything then you already know this.
The obsession with weight loss is characterized by the number of claims that, "this is the only diet you'll ever need!".
In fact, as early as the seventies, there were diets claiming just that by recommending eliminating ALL carbohydrates from your diet and consuming only meat and proteins - or the reverse, eliminating all proteins entirely.
Today, the most popular fad diets include: the Atkins Diet, the South Beach diet, and the Zone diet. And, just like in the past,...
Diets > The Big Three in Weight Loss
Pet Food - What?s Wrong with a Commercial Diet?
Commercial dog food has only been around since the 1930s when cereal companies were trying to find something to do with their rejected grain their wheat and rice and corn that failed USDA inspection, usually because of mold. They discovered that the meat industry faced the same problem. Leftover meat not fit for human consumption, usually because the livestock was diseased.This gave birth to the idea of mixing the rejects together, calling it "pet food", and making big profits off of it. Smart advertising planted this term in the public's mind, but your dog was never intended to get his nutrition from a bag or can, especially filled with this stuff. It's not "dog food" -- it's an artificial diet created for the benefit of the grain and meat industries and the pet food corporations.Virtually all-artificial diets are heavily based on grains and cereals.
But dogs are not cows. A dog has a short straight digestive tract meant to digest meat and protein. Grains and cereals are carbohydrates...
Pet Food - What?s Wrong with a Commercial Diet?
Diets > Pet Food - What?s Wrong with a Commercial Diet?
Fad Diets and Why They Don?t Stay
Copyright 2005 Adam Waxler
Fad diets are well known for their promise of bringing some instant weight loss.
However, while these diets may help you lose weight quick, they may also create health issues.
Here is some helpful fad diet advice:
1.
It's not recommended to do such a diet for more then 3 to 7 days, because they are unbalanced and are not meant to be a permanent way of eating.
2.
While keeping the fad diet, do not overexert yourself, even if you feel fine during that time; the fad diet can become stressful on your body and overexerting can result in some major health issues.
3.
You can often get very hungry at times, try drinking water to help manage hunger pains
4.
After finishing the fad diet, don't start celebrating the end of dieting with food, otherwise all that effort will be in vain. Instead, focus on a balanced diet once you are done with the fad...
Fad Diets and Why They Don?t Stay
Diets > Fad Diets and Why They Don?t Stay