I was flicking through my favorite magazine the other day and inside it had not one, not even two but four different diets that you could choose from all claiming that you could lose weight on them. Do a search online and you’ll find thousands of them all saying something different: eat this, avoid carbs, combine foods, foods for your blood type, high protein, low fat, raw food … arrgh – no wonder people are confused! What happened to the simple eat healthy and exercise plan?
Of course in reality we know deep down that no one diet is right for everyone and while your neighbor down the road might be doing well with Weight Watchers and your sister swears by the Atkins diet, the diet that might be right for you could be something else entirely. So how do you choose which is the right diet for you to help you lose weight? This article will help you cut the fat and try and get a straight answer.
Most diets today used a variation on eating only X amount of calories. While they may try and convince you to avoid some foods or only eat others, usually it’s because the foods that are on the banned list are high in fat and calories and the foods that you should be eating are low calorie instead of them having some magical fat burning ingredient in them as some diets claim.
Try and avoid diets that focus only on specific foods or food groups (such as the grapefruit or cookie diet) and focus on those that allow most foods and seem reasonable in their expectations. Also diet plans that allow some sort of flexibility are far more realistic than those that are rigid in their menu choices.
The right diet should have delicious, healthy food and not leave you hungry or wanting more. A good plan will allow you to mix and match your favorites or offer alternatives if you don’t like a particular food.
Use your gut instinct (yes I totally meant that pun) and narrow down the choice to the top two or three plans that fit your lifestyle the best and choose your favorite to start with. Keep going on that plan for at least three or four weeks to see how you are feeling and whether you are losing weight or not. If you are feeling full, the food is healthy and you are steadily losing around 2 pounds a week this could be the right diet for you, if not choose the next one on your list and try that.
Make sure you give each plan a reasonable amount of time to work. Many diets require a little bit of adjustment in the beginning until you get the hang of it, but after a few days you should be used to it and starting to feel the effects. A good diet will give you lots of energy and make you feel great. Don’t listen to any plan or expert that says you need to starve yourself or suffer to lose weight – that is simply not true.
Everybody has different lifestyles and difference expectations so that is why some types of foods have different effects on different people, but once you’ve found a winner and something you can stick with you are well on your way to a slimmer sexier you.