by Ben Wee

Created on: October 29, 2008

Well, with any diet to lose weight, we are all faced with restrictions.
Avoiding some food and making extra effort to exercise, it is a life long thing that we have to do.

The reason many diets fail is not because the diet is lousy. The problem lies with the person under going the diet. They lack the discipline to stick to it for the long run. When I say long run, I mean, for the rest of your life.

To lose weight is easy. Any one can lose weight. Just fast for a few days to a week and you can see weight being lost. The trick to a successful diet is to keep those pounds off after you have lost it.
And that requires a change in lifestyle, not just for a month or two. But for the rest of your lives.

Yeah... who ever said losing weight was easy?

One way to make a diet plan sustainable, as I have found out, is to make it not so restrictive. Eating right and exercising go hand in hand. People who eat well feel better and exercise better and vice versa.

A delicious eating plan made up of fiber-rich, nutrient-dense foods, like poultry, fish, lean red meats, and fruits and vegetables, as well as beans and whole grains.
That is why the first part of any diet, is education.
Education of what you put into your mouth is very important. A diet does not mean boring tasteless food.

All you need to do is make some changes to your everyday consumed item and you can see and feel the difference within a month or two.

Take for example, instead of reaching for that lump of sugar for your coffee or tea, try going for honey instead.
Instead of that big glob of mash potatoes, try going for a Cob of corn.
Little things like that make a whole lot of difference in the number of calories that you take in.

Once you know how each kind of food works, then you will know exactly what to use as a substitute. You will still be able to enjoy your favorite dishes with a healthier choice of ingredients.

Then comes the all difficult word... DISCIPLINE.
One of the main reasons why many people fail in their diet, is because they jump straight into abstaining everything and anything they eat.
Imagine, used to having a large and hearty portion of pasta for dinner, now, on the diet, you are reduced to two slices of lettuce and a stick of carrot. Not very appetizing, rite?

So, rather than jump right into a diet, try reducing the portions of your food first.
Start with a 10% reduction then gradually work towards halving it within the duration of half a year to a year, which ever time you are more comfortable.
At the same time, substituting the ingredients with healthier choices.

Just these two alone, I managed to lose 5 KG in the period of one year. Coupled with exercise, I managed to lose another 6 in the following year.

Then come maintenance. After losing all that weight, you have to maintain it that way. If not, the pounds will just creep back in and put all that effort of losing them to waste.

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