How to Stick to a Diet

Posted on December 22, 2015June 19, 2019 by nesler

Knowing how to stick to a diet is critical to success in weight loss. Even if you determine to burn a lot of calories by exercising, it won’t make a difference if you aren’t careful about what you eat.

There are many reasons that you might have decided to diet right now. You may be preparing for a big event, like your office Christmas party. You may be gearing up to make a big New Year’s resolution to finally lose those 15 extra pounds. Or it may be that you’re just ready to lose some weight to improve your health.

Here are:

7 Helpful Hints on How to Stick to a Diet

1 – Be mindful of your expenses.

While this might seem like an odd place to begin, you need to keep in mind that dieting can be expensive. There can be special memberships and meal plans to pay for.

There are two ways to go when it comes to your dieting budget. You can join a program that has costs attached to it or you can do it on your own and use a program from a book or other source.

Maybe you need to join a gym or hire a personal trainer. Be sure to count the cost ahead of time.

2 – Understand Your Motivation

When it comes to dieting, it also helps to understand what’s driving your decision to lose weight. Sometimes it’s not enough to be motivated to fit into a new dress. Likewise the general desire to get healthy isn’t always enough to keep you going.

Be specific in setting your goals and understanding why you are going through the trouble of dieting. Otherwise, you might just decide it isn’t worth the effort and quit.

3 – Get Prepared

When it’s time to begin your diet, it helps to make sure you have all the things you need to be successful. For example, you’ll need to make sure you have the correct food items available.

Some diet plans have staple items that you’ll need over and over again. You may find that it’s best to buy these items in bulk so that you get a better bargain. When you buy in bulk, you’ll also have more on hand.

Clear out any temptation foods you might have in the house, like pop or soda, cookies, and potato chips. Determine to start a new way of life that only allows for healthy food choices.

4 – Get Support

When it comes to dieting, it’s often better not to go it alone. It helps to have someone to whom you can be accountable. It’s also nice to have someone who shares your common goals and vision.

You may want to consider starting a diet group or even just having a diet buddy. This person will help you to stay on track and you can do the same for him or her.

5 – Avoid Saboteurs

It’s a well known fact that when you’re trying to lose weight and improve your health, someone will come along to sabotage your efforts. Whether it’s jealousy, misunderstanding, or just plain being mean, this is something you should expect.

While having positive support can lead to your success, allowing negative people to get in your way will be detrimental. The first time someone does or says something that makes your diet more difficult, make sure to let them know what you want from them.

It is much wiser to surround yourself with people who will support you.

6 – Keep a Journal

Study after study has found that the most successful dieters are those who keep a journal. This journal can work in a number of ways and you can tailor the process to the particular diet you’ve chosen.

For some people, keeping a journal will mean writing down calories and fat grams. For other people it will mean writing down the specific foods and portions you enjoy at each meal.

Still for others, it will mean keeping track of when you ate and how you felt at the time. Some journals are for keeping track of emotions and hunger. But no matter what you do, it helps to keep a journal to record the process.

7 – Set Realistic Goals

Another stumbling block that many people face when dieting is setting unrealistic goals. This creates a cycle that makes it difficult to stay on your diet. What often happens is that people become discouraged when they don’t reach their goals.

This discouragement eventually leads to giving up on the diet. But instead of giving up, most people would benefit more from actually being more realistic about their expectations.

From the beginning you need to make sure you set goals you can actually achieve. This helps to build success and motivate you to continue further. Slow and steady wins the race.

Once you understand how to stick to a diet, the process becomes a tiny bit easier. It still takes hard work and determination, but being healthy is well worth the effort.

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Norma Esler
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