: How to Break the Cycle of Unsuccessful Diets

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(542 Words)
Have you tried one unsuccessful diet after another? Many are stuck in a cycle such as this, and you may feel that nothing you do can change it. This is far from true however. Consider the following strategies to help break the cycle of futile diets.
Evaluate the problem
Start by trying to ascertain what the problem is and addressing that. For instance, let’s say that your issue is that you keep sneaking desserts late at night. That problem has a simple solution – get the desserts out of the house! If the problem is that you just eat too much unhealthy food when you go out to eat, then you may want to avoid eating out or only go to places that have diet menus.
Sometimes you may not understand while your diet is unsuccessful – you just know that you are not losing the weight that you want to lose. You may want to write down everything that you eat. You may be eating a lot more than you realize. For instance, you may sneak in a little treat here or there or lick the spoon from the oily stir fry. Another thing you might not consider are calorie-filled drinks. Drinks like sodas, wine, beer and even juice can add calories into your diet.
Try a safe, varied and proven diet based on moderation
There are probably more fad diets out there than days of the year, and new ones sprout up at rapid pace. You may go from one fad diet to the next, hoping each time that the next one will be the key to success. Unfortunately, there are a lot of diets that don’t work, are not healthy or are just not sustainable. Some diets cut out an entire food group, which could deprive your body of much needed nutrients. You do not want a diet in which you can only eat foods that begin with the letter J on alternate Tuesdays. There are some diets that make just about as much sense as that one. Other diets like Weight Watchers are better.
It is important not to lower your caloric intake too much. Some people cut down the food they eat way too quickly. Not only is it not healthy for you, but your body can go into starvation mode or you could even start to suffer from anorexia. At best it is not sustainable. Basically you should just be cutting down calories in your diet and eating healthier foods like vegetables, fruits and whole grains. Get rid of high-calorie fat-laden foods. Also, watch out for weight loss supplements, most of which do nothing at best and some of which can be dangerous.
Get support
A lot of people find that they can finally succeed in a diet when they get support. You may want to get a buddy and hold each other accountable. A lot of people join a weight loss program like Weight Watchers where they go to meetings and get weighed.
Just because you have had unsuccessful diets does not mean you cannot be successful now. Make the decision that you are going to break the cycle and do it this time. Give yourself little rewards as you hit milestones to help keep you going.
Updated On: 07/20/2010 Published On: 07/20/2010 Article ViewerClose
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