November 12, 2008

Effective Diets - How To Choose One

Are you fighting the diet battle again this year, worried that once more, your willpower will leave you unarmed and you’ll give it up before you achieve your weight loss goals? There are many effective diets, but which one will work for you?

Whether you’re a first time dieter or one who has been going around and around the track for years, you’ll be happy to know that it is possible to pick a plan and stick to it until you get to the weight you want to be.

The first tip is to try to choose a diet plan that’s not too strict for you. You know the kind – some have special limits on carbs, protein, or anything that’s the color white. People who lose weight long-term have to learn to live in a world where nothing is off-limits, but moderation is key.

Other diets plans have you start and stop, start and stop, until the weight comes off. This can get tedious and send you on extreme highs and lows emotionally and physically as your body is forced to adjust to the new circumstances.

Instead, try to find a plan that shows you how to eat healthy for a lifetime. If you know it’s okay to sometimes have a special treat, or indulge in a glass of wine, then you won’t have to go from one end of the spectrum to the other – you’ll be on a balanced course that’s safe for your body and easy on your emotions.

Fasting and binging (even on healthy foods) is a sure way to develop poor eating habits and it can confuse your body with the mixed messages. One minute you’re devouring pound after pound of fresh fruit and vegetables, lean protein, and carbs – and the next you’re surviving on nothing but hot water with honey and red pepper mixed in.

Before you choose any diet, evaluate it's effectiveness as a lifetime plan. Could you exist without ever eating another morsel of sugar again in this lifetime? Could you turn away bread at every meal for the next thirty years?

Some diets make it seem like their rigid plan is one you could adhere to forever, but caving in could cause you to regain more weight if you get discouraged and give up for good.

No diet plan is 100% comfortable when you’re used to being able to eat with freedom. Still, there are many plans that offer sensible ways to eat where you never have to leave an entire food group off your plate. Don’t follow a fad – instead, follow your heart and make up your mind to choose one of the effective diets you feel comfortable implementing and that can become a way of life.


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