Fat Loss Friday - You Need A Plan

Want to know a dirty secret about the diet industry? The one thing no-one ever talks about? Well here it is ..........All Diets Work!

There. That's it. All diets work at one time or another. Some are more successful than others but they all work. That is what I discuss here on this blog and try to sort the wheat from the chaff as it were. I do the hard work for you and look at what works and what doesn't.

However, despite this many diets also fail.That may seem a contradiction. How can they all work and also how can they fail? The answer lies in their application and more often than not it depends on your mindset.

You need a plan

You see most diets fail for the simple reason that you do not have a plan. As the saying goes - If you fail to plan then you plan to fail. Or that even if you have a plan it is not planned out.

Let me put it this way. You have a "plan" in that when you start out on a diet the "plan" is you want to lose weight. That is not a plan.That is simply a goal. For it to be truly a plan you need three things:

1. You need a goal
2. You need a time frame (it helps if this is realistic!)
3. You need to have a series of steps to take you towards your goal

So how does this apply to your weight loss journey?

You need a goal

OK. so the idea is to lose weight. This only becomes a goal if you have an idea of how much weight you plan to lose.It is not simply enough to say you want to lose weight. State it in absolute terms.

For example "I need to lose 10 pounds" or "I must drop 10 pounds of fat". For added effect write it down and place this goal somewhere where it will act as a continuous reminder of what you wish to achieve.

You need a time frame

It's no use having a goal if you do not know by when you wish to achieve it. It's like starting out on a road trip without having an idea of when it will finish. Say you set out from New York in a car travelling towards San Francisco but you have no idea of when or even if you will arrive. It's no use going on such a trip and kinda, sorta thinking that you will get there in a week, 10 days, a year......

You see what I mean.

Have a time-frame and make it realistic. If you do not make it realistic then you are just setting yourself up for failure. Again write it down as a constant reminder. For example "I need to drop 10 pounds of fat in time for the wedding on December 10th eight weeks time"

You need a series of steps

It's all very well writing down your plan, with a time scale but not having any idea of exactly how to get there. You need to break down the overall plan into a series of achievable steps. Usually the project is too big to handle all in one go. Breaking it down into smaller steps helps to make it achievable and acts as a positive feed-back loop. As you see each step being achieved it helps to reinforce your mindset and your commitment and helps in the overall process. Again have a time frame attached to each step so that you can see yourself moving towards your goal.

Once you put these to work it will become much easier to stick to your goals and help you onwards on your health and weight loss goals. All the best.

How to Make Sticking With Your Diet Easier

If you're are constantly finding yourself falling off the healthy eating wagon, it's important that you start considering what you can do to help yourself stick with it better so that you can move forward and see the results that you're after.

Adherence really is the number one thing that you must be accounting for as you plan to get in shape and lose weight.

Fortunately, there are a number of ways to make sticking with your diet easier, and if you can just employ one of those, you can get yourself back on track to faster success. Let's go over the main techniques to try.

The Details:

· Get a diet buddy. Having a supportive friend there for you during your times of struggle can go a long way to helping you stay on course.

· Make a list of goals. Set some goals from the very start that you want to accomplish so you have a clear reason for being on the diet.

· Use daily goals. Along with your long-term goals, have some daily goals that you can pat yourself on the back for hitting. The feeling you get when you carry them out will propel you forward.

· Try new recipes. Dietary boredom is one of the biggest reasons that people fall off their new eating plan. Make sure to try a new recipe every so often; the choices are endless.

· Add new vegetables to your dishes. Vegetables are a must to eat daily, but most people don't. Add one new vegetable to your diet each week to help liven up your meals and boost your nutrition. Soon you're bound to find a new favorite!

· Plan to indulge. If you plan a cheat meal once a week, you won't obsess so much about guilty pleasure foods the rest of the time.

· Stay hydrated. Not drinking enough water can cause food cravings to set in.

· Stay away from your triggers. If you know you always give in to cinnamon buns after one whiff of the sugary scent, don't go anywhere near a bakery.

· Shop wisely. If you don't bring foods you crave into the house, you won't be able to eat them when the craving strikes.

· Take progress pictures. Doing so will help you see how far your efforts are getting you. When you see your motivation waning, pull out past photos to remind yourself how far you've come. Or keep an old pair of pants to slip on when you're feeling discouraged.

· Write in a journal. Getting your thoughts down on paper will release them and help you work through your emotions rather than turning to comfort food.

The Bottom Line:

So there you have some of the main ways of making sure that you stay the course on your diet plan. The odd set-back here and there is completely normal so don't expect complete perfection.

As long as you pick yourself back up and get back on track, you should have no problem moving onwards and see the results that you're hoping for. A set-back is only a set-back if it causes you to fall off the protocol for a week or longer, and you really do damage to your newly formed healthy eating habits.

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