Posts Tagged ‘weight loss’

The Building Blocks Of A Successful Diet

The second part of this article can be found here

Now you will learn the fundamentals of a great diet program. This is not a quick fix plan and my hope is that you are committed enough to a program that does not promise results today, but will produce long lasting results down the road. You will find success in a diet if you start planning well before you eat. You must comprehend the psychology of your food decisions, and plan ahead. So if you are ready to handle the ups and downs that occur with a successful diet then read on, otherwise look for your quick fix elsewhere.

Success is a Habit

Just a reminder, part two of this article is at this site

Your power to control your cravings will only take you so far. The ups and downs associated with a diet can be overwhelming for most. If all it took was willpower to reduce fat, we would all be thin. The issue is that our bodies manage energy in way beyond our control. Our bodies have found a way to adjust to the varied level of food input and change the way they use this energy. Can you picture what it was like in the beginning of mankind. Picture yourself as a caveman who would have no idea what dinner would consist of the next day. Sometimes he would eat like a king after a successful saber-tooth tiger kill, and sometimes he will starve when there was a blizzard . Cavemen did not have the convenience of the modern day storage solutions. To keep the food from going bad he stored the energy in his body. The same man is strolling down 5th Avenue today. Despite the amount of time that has passed our bodies have not changed that much. Starving yourself is not an effective way to diet. In just a few days our bodies will begin to crave for food beyond our control. Our body will go into protection mode.

Times have changed from the days of scarce food supply. Relying on just our instincts we would likely all be well overweight. So how can we overcome this hurdle? The only way is to develop superior eating habits. It is my belief that your habits will drive most of your success throughout this journey. With a pen and paper take an inventory of your current dining habits. Take it one step further and list everything related to the way you eat. When throughout the day are you hungry? What time of the day do you have the urge for junk food? Are you following a decent routine during the day but bingeing at night? As you begin to see what bad habits you have you can correct the behavior. In the past I didn’t stop to enjoy breakfast. Aside from the obvious benefits of breakfast I used to get famished around 10 in the morning. When I skip breakfast I can’t control my urge to buy unhealthy food from the corner store. I found that eating breakfast again raised my energy level.

“He who defends everywhere, defends nowhere.” -Sun Tzu

You won’t eliminate your habits overnight. If you make a pledge to cure yourself of all your bad habits today then good luck, but I predict you will fail. It would be better to come up with a structured plan. A good plan would be to change your habits over a three weeks. Why choose three weeks? Over a three week period you will be accustomed to your new habits. So make a small change like eat a good breakfast each day, or have a salad for lunch every day for three weeks. Once you master this add a new habit. Build on this concept until you have the will power to make good decisions about each and every meal. You can work on other dietary strategies once you have mastered this step. A successful program begins with a strong foundation. For the most part, changing only a few diet habits will enable you to have success.

Preparation and Planning 

Effective weight reduction diets are a result of preparation and planning. Did you plan your meals for the week, can you find everything in your kitchen? These seem like simple questions but left unanswered people fail with their diets. It is hard to get excited about planning meals. But if you are a thorough planner you will experience more success with your diet. Perhaps you are a world traveler, you wouldn’t even get in the car without a thorough plan. The same can be said for dieting. Perhaps you discovered the latest fad diet. The first step is to see if this program fits your budget. Then take some time to schedule when your meals will be, and how you will prepare them.

Plan your meals for the coming seven days to be successful. Prepare a detailed list of food and cook times for the entire week. What is your plan on how you will cook these meals? Make sure you won’t have any conflicts with roommates or classes. Put your grocery list together, bring your coupons and get ready to hit the road. Cashing in your coupons can save you a ton of cash on your diet supplies. Go to the store to pick up everything on your list. Recruit the help of a family member to keep you on track. It may be time to cook when you return home. Some things I do to ensure diet success is that I like to have a supply of pre-made salads with sliced chicken on hand at all times. A crock pot is a fantastic tool for cooking. Buy some prepackaged meals so you don’t spend all of your time cooking.

This article should have helped you understand the secret to a successful diet plan. A successful diet begins with a plan and ends with determination.

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