by Barry Mccormick

Created on: May 18, 2009   Last Updated: May 22, 2009

Dieting is no easy task. We can be infinitely determined to loose weight by having a healthy diet and regular exercise but no matter how determined we are temptation can get the better of us.

Going it alone in dieting is not totally impossible, people have done it successfully but it is a harder route to take. You find that you reason with yourself, "I will eat this as a treat today and that will be me for the week." With every intention to uphold this at the next time of temptation because the previous treat not only served as a treat but a reminder of how good treats are the temptation now because of the previous submission is so much harder.

When we diet independently we find ourselves making, what we believe to be "reasonable," concessions in our diet here and there. What happens in this instance is that we just make more and more of these reasonable concessions until our diets are littered with them and we find ourselves back to where we started.

It has been proven, however, that on average people loose more weight if they go to a Weight Watchers or other type of slimming club, why is this so? What is it about doing something with a group of people with the same purpose that helps?

Accountability is the key. This is why slimming clubs have a degree of success and why people who diet together are more successful. Every week you go and you are accountable to the group or other person you are dieting with, for how well the past week has been. If you were going it alone you would have no one else to be accountable to and more likely to succumb to temptation.

It is totally psychological. The mentality of "I'm dieting alone so I'm only letting myself down" is totally contrasting from "I'm dieting with a family member, colleague or friend so I'm letting them down also." Another argument as to why this sort of accountability works is that no one likes to admit weakness. It is because of this people do better when they are accountable to someone because they do not want to admit to being weak and do not want to fail, especially if that failure is going to be seen and noted by another.

There is also encouragement if you choose to diet with someone. By going it alone in dieting is like running an ultra race without a back up team. Support is vital for success in every area of life, so why would it be different for dieting? You see yourself loosing steam and the chocolate cake in the fridge is looking more and more appealing every single time you go into the fridge to get milk for a cup of tea, no sugars of course! Just as you are about to give in your diet buddy gives you a little text or phone call or pops round and you are encouraged to overcome the temptation.

To be successful in our dieting support and encouragement is needed. This support and encouragement would probably be best given by someone who has the same goal and task that you do. Buddy up for dieting: be accountable; Be encouraging.

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