by Angelina Lea

Created on: February 06, 2008

I'm no stranger to diets. In fact, I've tried more than my fair share, often with disappointing results. What, you're not shocked?

Back during the Atkins Diet craze, I had a friend who was filming an infomercial for his own low carb diet plan. I agreed to be a part of it, which also meant going on the diet.

It was based on a body building diet, and so health wasn't exactly the order of the day. Have you ever eaten a diet of eggs, cheese, lettuce, and nothing else? Well, I have, and I can tell you this; it simply doesn't work and it's far from healthy.

It's important to remember that not all low carb diet plans are created equally. There are a wide variety of diet plans, low carb and otherwise, available to you. There are even low carb diet pills, or carb blockers, which are supposed to absorb excess carbohydrates from your system. It's up to you to research the safety and effectiveness of diet pills or dramatic eating plans. I, for one, find pills to be useless and unnecessary.

Whatever methods you choose, there are basic principles that, if respected, can get you the results you are looking for and better health along the way.

First, it's important to define your goals. Are you just trying to lose that last 5 pounds? Or, are you struggling with a lot of extra weight?

Defining your goals can help you determine exactly what kind of diet you need to consider. If you current eating "style" has packed on the pounds, it's important that you look at your dietary changes as being relatively permanent. As opposed to being on a diet, you would be making a lifestyle change that will permeate your daily life for the foreseeable future.

I'm going to give you a gift

My gift to you was acquired through many hours of trial and error, reading, and college courses. Here they are, the magic bullets of weight loss

* Eat whole grains and complex carbs. You will want to actually read the ingredient list, and make sure it says whole grain, and not "enriched". If you prefer, you can kick-start your diet in the first week by keeping even whole grain carbs to a minimum, but make sure you start bringing them back in to your diet in small portions. Avoid simple sugars in all forms, including white bread, white rice, and standard pasta.

* Make sure you are getting enough protein, and NOT just once a day. Your body needs, but cannot store, certain amino acids that are found in proteins. It is of the utmost importance that you feed your body protein throughout the day, otherwise, your body will harvest

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