Cookie Diet Review
History of the Cookie Diet
Dr. Siegal, a doctor based in Miami, Florida, developed the original cookie diet. The cookie diet is also his trademark. As an obesity expert, he developed the cookie diet in 1975 as an answer for his patients who were losing faith in their diets due to hunger. He developed the cookie diet cookies a convenient, sensible snack that should curb hunger and therefore help his patients to stick to their diet.
Dr. Siegal realized, early in his career, a fact that helped shape his future reputation: he realized that his patients were failing at their diets because hunger was causing them to cheat. He figured out that he could help his patients stick to their diets and lose weight if he could control their hunger. With extensive chemistry knowledge in his background added to his passion for cooking, Dr, Siegal discovered that if he combined certain food proteins, called amino acids, in a particular way he could produce foods that offered unusual hunger control qualities per calorie.
Using his discovery, he created his now-famous diet cookies. Later he went on to develop other products using the same technology like shakes and soup that had the same hunger-controlling qualities.The cookie diet cookies do not however contain any prescription drugs and they are therefore available to purchase without obtaining a doctors prescription. The Cookie Diet cookies can be used as a diet in themselves or they can be used in conjunction with other diets as a snack alternative or they can simply be used to help control the appetite.
Over the past thirty-two years, according to the official site, the cookie diet has been used by more than 500,000 people and the cookie diet has helped them reach their goal weight. The cookie diet has also been used by more than 200 other physicians in their own practices to help people lose weight.
The Cookie Diet today
Recently there has been a sudden resurgence of interest in the cookie diet. There are two companies who seem to offer the ‘cookie diet’ – Dr. Siegal’s official company and a company called Smart for Life. Both of these companies offer “cookies” which aim to help you lose weight and both are easily found on the internet id you search for cookie diet.
The cookie diet no longer consists only of cookies but both companies offer shakes, meal replacements, soups, muffins as well as a variety of cookies.
Does the Cookie Diet work?
Since the diet, using the cookies, uses only 800 calories a day, chances are that you will lose weight on the cookie diet. Whether the cookies are healthy and provide the right nutrients, vitamins etc, is a topic debated by medical research. Apparently even Dr. Siegal does not recommend the diet as a long term option. If you’re looking a short term solution then the cookie diet may be a viable option, but whether it will help you to change your lifestyle in the long run and keep the pounds off, remains a mystery.
For more info visit me on my website: www.weightwatching.co.za
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Top 5 Diet Tips for Any Diet
1. Get organised.
When you see you’ve picked up a few pounds, don’t rush off and start the nearest diet. Get organised – plan your menu, plan what snacks you’ll have that you enjoy, go shopping, get rid of all those bad foods and fill your cupboards with the good ones. Prepare for the weekly rush by planning lunch menus for work, emergency dinners for the days you work late. .. You get the idea. Get organised and give yourself the highest chance of success in your diet.
2. Tell your family and friends
Its good to tell the people around you. Firstly, you may find that they are an invaluable source of support. Hopefully they will also not lead you into temptation if they know you’re on a diet, like arriving with a great big chocolate cake or your favourite ice-cream. Let them know what you can and can’t eat so that if they want to invite you to dinner they can make something that will suit you – if you don’t you may find your social invitations dry up for no reason.
3. Choose a diet which suits you.
There are as many diets out there as there are people, so choose a diet which is as close to your lifestyle as possible. There are cabbage diets, high protein diets, high carb diets, calorie diet … yes even chocolate diet … or so I’m told, to choose one which is most suited to your lifestyle, that way the changes to your lifestyle will not be so drastic and you will have a much greater chance of being successful at changing your lifestyle and thus keeping the weight off.
4. Choose the type of exercise which you enjoy.
Like with the diets, there are numerous kinds of exercise out there so find out what exercise facilities there are in your community and then choose one which you enjoy. If you want to lose weight successfully and keep that weight off then you need to make exercise a routine, not just something you do when you have gained those extra pounds. Once again it comes down to the fact that it’s a lifestyle change, so choose something that you will enjoy doing for many years to come.
5. Prepare mentally – this is a lifestyle change not a diet.
As mentioned above, the most successful diet plan is one which ultimately leads to change in your lifestyle, which means you will keep the pounds off and hopefully never have to diet again. So in order to change your lifestyle, I would recommend changing one or two things at a time. Let those changes become a habit and then make the next few changes. If you change too much too soon, you’re going to probably end up chucking the whole lot. Small changes need not mean small weight loss. See what is keeping you from loosing weight the most and change that first, like sugar for example. Just substituting sugar for sugar substitute could help you loose three or four pounds a month. Once the habits set in then change the next thing… but keep making those changes, until you are the new healthier you.
Good luck with the weight loss. Visit me on my new webpage for more tips and free recipes
Brigitta
When you see you’ve picked up a few pounds, don’t rush off and start the nearest diet. Get organised – plan your menu, plan what snacks you’ll have that you enjoy, go shopping, get rid of all those bad foods and fill your cupboards with the good ones. Prepare for the weekly rush by planning lunch menus for work, emergency dinners for the days you work late. .. You get the idea. Get organised and give yourself the highest chance of success in your diet.
2. Tell your family and friends
Its good to tell the people around you. Firstly, you may find that they are an invaluable source of support. Hopefully they will also not lead you into temptation if they know you’re on a diet, like arriving with a great big chocolate cake or your favourite ice-cream. Let them know what you can and can’t eat so that if they want to invite you to dinner they can make something that will suit you – if you don’t you may find your social invitations dry up for no reason.
3. Choose a diet which suits you.
There are as many diets out there as there are people, so choose a diet which is as close to your lifestyle as possible. There are cabbage diets, high protein diets, high carb diets, calorie diet … yes even chocolate diet … or so I’m told, to choose one which is most suited to your lifestyle, that way the changes to your lifestyle will not be so drastic and you will have a much greater chance of being successful at changing your lifestyle and thus keeping the weight off.
4. Choose the type of exercise which you enjoy.
Like with the diets, there are numerous kinds of exercise out there so find out what exercise facilities there are in your community and then choose one which you enjoy. If you want to lose weight successfully and keep that weight off then you need to make exercise a routine, not just something you do when you have gained those extra pounds. Once again it comes down to the fact that it’s a lifestyle change, so choose something that you will enjoy doing for many years to come.
5. Prepare mentally – this is a lifestyle change not a diet.
As mentioned above, the most successful diet plan is one which ultimately leads to change in your lifestyle, which means you will keep the pounds off and hopefully never have to diet again. So in order to change your lifestyle, I would recommend changing one or two things at a time. Let those changes become a habit and then make the next few changes. If you change too much too soon, you’re going to probably end up chucking the whole lot. Small changes need not mean small weight loss. See what is keeping you from loosing weight the most and change that first, like sugar for example. Just substituting sugar for sugar substitute could help you loose three or four pounds a month. Once the habits set in then change the next thing… but keep making those changes, until you are the new healthier you.
Good luck with the weight loss. Visit me on my new webpage for more tips and free recipes
Brigitta
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Weight Watchers – Put an end to dieting forever.
Millions of people have lost weight the “Weight Watchers” way. Other diet fads have come and gone, but after 40 years, Weight Watchers is still going strong. Why? Because the program is more than just a diet. It’s a lifestyle, which leads to a healthy, happy, balanced individual.
Weight Watchers is based on four essential pillars of weight loss namely behaviour, food, support and exercise and it is their constant attention to all four pillars which make the lifestyle successful. Their mantra is “the whole person matters” and they approach diet as a core part of the person.
Their program is also adaptable to different people. It’s no good telling a person who is four hundred pounds overweight to follow the same diet as someone who is close to their ideal weight. The diet would be unrealistic and the overweight person would never be able to follow the diet. They have therefore introduced various eating plans to suit just about every type of person.
Weight Watchers also provides one thing which most other diet plans do not – a huge level of motivation and support. I think this is one of the reasons why the program is so successful. Dieting can often be demoralising and a lonely experience, but with weight watchers you can join a community that knows exactly what you’re going through and the leaders of the groups have just the right advice for most people. And if you can’t afford to join a group – if you live too far or you don’t have the time, then you can join the online community and get the support from the company itself.
The community or groups don’t only provide support, but they also add to your sense of accomplishment. The group knows your progress and shares your excitement – even when you’ve only lost a few ounces - and this sense of accomplishment does wonders for your level of motivation.
Because Weight Watchers has been around for so long, there is also tons of information about the diet. Recipes, meal plans and tips are easily found. You can even buy foods with weight watcher points marked on them.
When it comes to weight loss, weight watchers is definitely one program I’d highly recommend.
Weight Watchers is based on four essential pillars of weight loss namely behaviour, food, support and exercise and it is their constant attention to all four pillars which make the lifestyle successful. Their mantra is “the whole person matters” and they approach diet as a core part of the person.
Their program is also adaptable to different people. It’s no good telling a person who is four hundred pounds overweight to follow the same diet as someone who is close to their ideal weight. The diet would be unrealistic and the overweight person would never be able to follow the diet. They have therefore introduced various eating plans to suit just about every type of person.
Weight Watchers also provides one thing which most other diet plans do not – a huge level of motivation and support. I think this is one of the reasons why the program is so successful. Dieting can often be demoralising and a lonely experience, but with weight watchers you can join a community that knows exactly what you’re going through and the leaders of the groups have just the right advice for most people. And if you can’t afford to join a group – if you live too far or you don’t have the time, then you can join the online community and get the support from the company itself.
The community or groups don’t only provide support, but they also add to your sense of accomplishment. The group knows your progress and shares your excitement – even when you’ve only lost a few ounces - and this sense of accomplishment does wonders for your level of motivation.
Because Weight Watchers has been around for so long, there is also tons of information about the diet. Recipes, meal plans and tips are easily found. You can even buy foods with weight watcher points marked on them.
When it comes to weight loss, weight watchers is definitely one program I’d highly recommend.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Diet Eating – Plan for dieting eating success.
There is so much information on the web about dieting and diets and how to loose anything from 4 to 400 pounds in three seconds that I had no idea where to start looking for some easy steps to get me on the road to a healthier weight through diet eating. That’s why I started doing some research to find out what steps would help me to Diet Eating success.
These are some of the keys I’ve found to diet eating success:
1. Decide why you are dieting
2. Choose a goal and a reward.
3. Choose a diet.
4. Work out a plan
5. Work out a weekly menu
6. Reward yourself
(Visit my blog for the articles above)
4. Get a plan
If you’re like me, then you just rush into a diet without much planning. This is one of the biggest reasons for my failure most of the time. When I plan … I get a date to start, get my list of things I can eat, go shopping and stock the fridge with the “good foods” and get rid of the baddies, and then when I start the diet, I am ready and I tend to follow through.
I have the will power of a squirrel so if I don’t do those things, the first time I want a chocolate I go into the cupboard and have one, no matter how many times I told myself I wouldn’t … I’d be strong. It’s easier for to be weak and wish I had the chocolate but not able to eat it because it isn’t in the house, rather than try to be strong and avoid the baddies in the cupboard.
Steps I’ve found help me plan.
1. Set a date to start.
I find this gives me a target to work towards because starting a diet can be hard. It sounds easy but I need to figure out what to pack for lunch for work, how long some dishes take to make for dinner … those kinds of things. All this needs to be done before I diet or I know the diet won’t last long. I also tell people that I am going to do this. I’m always surprised how many people are willing to support me and help me and have good advice.
2. Get to know the diet you’re on.
Once I’ve chosen a diet, I make sure I know how the diet works. If its counting calories, or points like weight watchers then I make a list that I can easily refer to – for those times at work when that unexpected craving hits… cocktails, etc. This means I don’t end up cheating just because I was unprepared.
3. Set up a menu.
I find setting up a two week menu of foods helps me to plan my week, and also helps me not to cheat while I’m on the diet. I work out a shopping list as well and then replace ALL the food in my cupboard with the food on my list that I’m allowed to eat. I take the food from the cupboards that are not on the list and I pack them up in boxes and leave them at my sister’s house. I know it sounds radical but this really helps me avoid temptation and with the will power of a squirrel I need all the help I can get.
Do you have any planning tips for when you go on diet?
Hope to hear from you.
Brigitta
These are some of the keys I’ve found to diet eating success:
1. Decide why you are dieting
2. Choose a goal and a reward.
3. Choose a diet.
4. Work out a plan
5. Work out a weekly menu
6. Reward yourself
(Visit my blog for the articles above)
4. Get a plan
If you’re like me, then you just rush into a diet without much planning. This is one of the biggest reasons for my failure most of the time. When I plan … I get a date to start, get my list of things I can eat, go shopping and stock the fridge with the “good foods” and get rid of the baddies, and then when I start the diet, I am ready and I tend to follow through.
I have the will power of a squirrel so if I don’t do those things, the first time I want a chocolate I go into the cupboard and have one, no matter how many times I told myself I wouldn’t … I’d be strong. It’s easier for to be weak and wish I had the chocolate but not able to eat it because it isn’t in the house, rather than try to be strong and avoid the baddies in the cupboard.
Steps I’ve found help me plan.
1. Set a date to start.
I find this gives me a target to work towards because starting a diet can be hard. It sounds easy but I need to figure out what to pack for lunch for work, how long some dishes take to make for dinner … those kinds of things. All this needs to be done before I diet or I know the diet won’t last long. I also tell people that I am going to do this. I’m always surprised how many people are willing to support me and help me and have good advice.
2. Get to know the diet you’re on.
Once I’ve chosen a diet, I make sure I know how the diet works. If its counting calories, or points like weight watchers then I make a list that I can easily refer to – for those times at work when that unexpected craving hits… cocktails, etc. This means I don’t end up cheating just because I was unprepared.
3. Set up a menu.
I find setting up a two week menu of foods helps me to plan my week, and also helps me not to cheat while I’m on the diet. I work out a shopping list as well and then replace ALL the food in my cupboard with the food on my list that I’m allowed to eat. I take the food from the cupboards that are not on the list and I pack them up in boxes and leave them at my sister’s house. I know it sounds radical but this really helps me avoid temptation and with the will power of a squirrel I need all the help I can get.
Do you have any planning tips for when you go on diet?
Hope to hear from you.
Brigitta
Friday, August 8, 2008
Diet Eating – Goals and Rewards
There is so much information on the web about dieting and diets and how to loose anything from 4 to 400 pounds in three seconds that I had no idea where to start looking for some easy steps to get me on the road to a healthier weight. That’s why I started doing some research to find out what steps would help me to Diet Eating success.
These are some of the keys I’ve found to diet eating success:
1. Decide why you are dieting
2. Choose a goal and a reward.
3. Choose a diet.
4. Work out a plan
5. Work out a weekly menu
6. Reward yourself
(Visit my blog for the articles above)
Once I’ve decided that I absolutely have to go on a diet and that I have the requisite motivation, then I have to give myself an incentive for dieting. If I do this, I seem to be able to keep up my motivation to stay on the straight and narrow.
When I started dieting initially, I had twenty kilo’s to loose. I found that I needed something to remind me why I was doing this and that I was doing well. Initially I thought of one big reward that I would give myself when I reached my goal weight. Needless to say, being impatient as I am, I lost motivation quickly. Then a friend suggested I try to give myself little goals, small rewards along the way. This really worked for me.
What I did was to buy an article of clothing (not expensive mind you, sometimes just a new pair of panties or a bra was fine) that was one or two sizes to small for me. Then as soon as I got into that article, I felt great … my motivation went up 100%, my self esteem soared and for at least a week or two I had no trouble sticking to the diet. Of course by then I had a new article a size or two to small so the next goal was within reach.
So if big goals don’t work for you, why not try a whole lot of small goals and rewards. It certainly worked for me.
What goals and rewards have helped you with you diets?
These are some of the keys I’ve found to diet eating success:
1. Decide why you are dieting
2. Choose a goal and a reward.
3. Choose a diet.
4. Work out a plan
5. Work out a weekly menu
6. Reward yourself
(Visit my blog for the articles above)
Once I’ve decided that I absolutely have to go on a diet and that I have the requisite motivation, then I have to give myself an incentive for dieting. If I do this, I seem to be able to keep up my motivation to stay on the straight and narrow.
When I started dieting initially, I had twenty kilo’s to loose. I found that I needed something to remind me why I was doing this and that I was doing well. Initially I thought of one big reward that I would give myself when I reached my goal weight. Needless to say, being impatient as I am, I lost motivation quickly. Then a friend suggested I try to give myself little goals, small rewards along the way. This really worked for me.
What I did was to buy an article of clothing (not expensive mind you, sometimes just a new pair of panties or a bra was fine) that was one or two sizes to small for me. Then as soon as I got into that article, I felt great … my motivation went up 100%, my self esteem soared and for at least a week or two I had no trouble sticking to the diet. Of course by then I had a new article a size or two to small so the next goal was within reach.
So if big goals don’t work for you, why not try a whole lot of small goals and rewards. It certainly worked for me.
What goals and rewards have helped you with you diets?
Thursday, August 7, 2008
Diet Eating – Choose the right diet
Diet Eating – What diet is right for you?
There is so much information on the web about dieting and diets and how to loose anything from 4 to 400 pounds in three seconds that I had no idea where to start looking for some easy steps to get me on the road to a healthier weight. That’s why I started doing some research to find out what steps would help me to Diet Eating success.
These are some of the keys I’ve found to diet eating success:
1. Decide why you are dieting
2. Choose a goal and a reward.
3. Choose a diet.
4. Work out a plan
5. Work out a weekly menu
6. Reward yourself
(Visit my blog for the articles above)
As far as choosing a diet, here are some characteristics of the most common diets so you can decide which diet is right for you:
1.Cleansing diets
These are great to kick start you on a weight loss program. IF you cleanse the liver then the body metabolises food a lot faster and you should therefore lose weight a lot quicker. These are normally very strict regimens which are hard to follow in the long term and they also have left me feeling lack lustre. Not a good idea to cleanse if you have a hectic schedule planned. Ideally you should be able to take the time off from a busy schedule if you want to do a cleanse. I like to cleanse once a year so. Near the holidays so I don’t have to be half a moron at work.
2. Atkins Diet
The Atkins diet revolves around eating plenty of protein in the form of meat, eggs, cheese, chicken, etc while severely restricting the carbohydrates you eat. Its great for meat lovers and people who have used the Atkins successfully have reported rapid weight loss. I personally used the Atkins diet very successfully and lost 20kg. My lifestyle still revolved around Atkins although not as strictly as I used to.
For a great ebook on the atkins diet click here.
4. The South Beach Diet
I haven’t personally tried the South Beach Diet. There are plenty of resources to explain how it really works, but basically the diet differentiates between ‘good’ and bad carbohydrates. I am told it is very similar to the Atkins so you can eat what you want as long as you watch those carbs.
For a great ebook on the South Beach diet click here.
2. Calorie Restriction
This diet involved working out the calories of everything you eat and restricting calories to a certain number per day. It is very flexible in that you can eat anything you like as long as you keep tabs on the calories. The downside is that eating out can be complicated since its hard to work out what calories are in the meals served.
5. Weight Watchers
Weight watchers assigns a number of points to different foods. You are then allowed a number of points per day. You just need to count the points you eat per day. This diet is also very flexible. You have to join to get the point counters and books. I joined weight watchers and did manage to loose some weight, but I found the lifestyle hard to maintain. I enjoy my proteins so I found Atkins easier but for non-protein fanatics, it can be a very good eating program.
For a great ebook on the weight watchers diet click here.
If you arn't sure which diet is best then check out this ebook which has the Atkins, South Beach and Weight watchers diets all in one. Click here.
What diet works best for you?
There is so much information on the web about dieting and diets and how to loose anything from 4 to 400 pounds in three seconds that I had no idea where to start looking for some easy steps to get me on the road to a healthier weight. That’s why I started doing some research to find out what steps would help me to Diet Eating success.
These are some of the keys I’ve found to diet eating success:
1. Decide why you are dieting
2. Choose a goal and a reward.
3. Choose a diet.
4. Work out a plan
5. Work out a weekly menu
6. Reward yourself
(Visit my blog for the articles above)
As far as choosing a diet, here are some characteristics of the most common diets so you can decide which diet is right for you:
1.Cleansing diets
These are great to kick start you on a weight loss program. IF you cleanse the liver then the body metabolises food a lot faster and you should therefore lose weight a lot quicker. These are normally very strict regimens which are hard to follow in the long term and they also have left me feeling lack lustre. Not a good idea to cleanse if you have a hectic schedule planned. Ideally you should be able to take the time off from a busy schedule if you want to do a cleanse. I like to cleanse once a year so. Near the holidays so I don’t have to be half a moron at work.
2. Atkins Diet
The Atkins diet revolves around eating plenty of protein in the form of meat, eggs, cheese, chicken, etc while severely restricting the carbohydrates you eat. Its great for meat lovers and people who have used the Atkins successfully have reported rapid weight loss. I personally used the Atkins diet very successfully and lost 20kg. My lifestyle still revolved around Atkins although not as strictly as I used to.
For a great ebook on the atkins diet click here.
4. The South Beach Diet
I haven’t personally tried the South Beach Diet. There are plenty of resources to explain how it really works, but basically the diet differentiates between ‘good’ and bad carbohydrates. I am told it is very similar to the Atkins so you can eat what you want as long as you watch those carbs.
For a great ebook on the South Beach diet click here.
2. Calorie Restriction
This diet involved working out the calories of everything you eat and restricting calories to a certain number per day. It is very flexible in that you can eat anything you like as long as you keep tabs on the calories. The downside is that eating out can be complicated since its hard to work out what calories are in the meals served.
5. Weight Watchers
Weight watchers assigns a number of points to different foods. You are then allowed a number of points per day. You just need to count the points you eat per day. This diet is also very flexible. You have to join to get the point counters and books. I joined weight watchers and did manage to loose some weight, but I found the lifestyle hard to maintain. I enjoy my proteins so I found Atkins easier but for non-protein fanatics, it can be a very good eating program.
For a great ebook on the weight watchers diet click here.
If you arn't sure which diet is best then check out this ebook which has the Atkins, South Beach and Weight watchers diets all in one. Click here.
What diet works best for you?
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Diet Eating – Why are you dieting?
There is so much information on the web about dieting and diets and how to loose anything from 4 to 400 pounds in three seconds that I had no idea where to start looking for some easy steps to get me on the road to a healthier weight. That’s why I started doing some research to find out what steps would help me to Diet Eating success.
These are some of the keys I’ve found to diet eating success:
1. Decide why you are dieting
2. Choose a goal and a reward.
3. Choose a diet.
4. Work out a plan
5. Work out a weekly menu
6. Reward yourself
(Visit my blog for the articles above)
Before anyone can diet, you have to decide why you are in fact going on a diet. I know this sounds crazy and inane – yes you want to lose weight – but WHY? If you are a hundred pounds overweight then obviously a diet is the way to go, but often we don’t really need to go on a diet. There are other options like increasing your exercise a little, limiting a few of the luxuries for a while until those few extra pounds come off, walking to work instead of driving … etc
It’s important to know WHY, because if the reason isn’t a sound, solid, good reason, you’re never going to sustain a diet. Then when you fail your self-esteem will take a bump it doesn’t need to, so before taking on a diet, make sure you want to or that you have to and therefore that you have the required motivation to diet.
If you just need to lose a few pounds then perhaps try one of these before you head off and get into a diet:
1. Why have you gained those few extra pounds?
If its Christmas flab, thanksgiving love handles, or Easter egg tummies that you’re worried about then don’t despair. Chances are if you abstain from the things that piled on the pounds over Christmas, then over time those pounds will disappear. Of course this takes patience. To speed up the weight loss, try cutting out some everyday luxuries, like the sugar from your coffee, that extra slice of toast. If you write a food diary every day for a week, you’ll probably find a more than you’d expect that you can cut out to shed those extra kilo’s.
I keep a diary of my eating for a week and then carefully analyse what I’m eating. Just cutting out two cups of coffee per day can help me shed two or three pounds a month and you won’t really even know you’re being deprived. I’ve substituted a glass of water for two cans of soda a day and lost all the weight I needed without even going on a diet.
If deprivation isn’t your style, then try upping the exercise a little. I don’t mean hitting the gym and going frantic. Things like parking at the end of the parking lot instead of right by the shops and walking. Parking a few extra blocks from your job. Walking to the shops, not driving. I find exercise cloaked like this doesn’t really feel like exercise to me and I soon lose those extra kilo’s.
If you’ve picked up weight gradually and its not just a few pounds then you may need to take some drastic measures. But I also try the above first because I hate diets and exercise regimens and I avoid them at all costs. Then again, I have the willpower of a squirrel.
Of course, if you have not time to waste then check out the Emergency Gut Shrinker. It promises to shrink your gut in 48 hours. It looks like its worth a read.
What techniques have you found to avoid those dreaded diets?
Let me know.
Brigitta
These are some of the keys I’ve found to diet eating success:
1. Decide why you are dieting
2. Choose a goal and a reward.
3. Choose a diet.
4. Work out a plan
5. Work out a weekly menu
6. Reward yourself
(Visit my blog for the articles above)
Before anyone can diet, you have to decide why you are in fact going on a diet. I know this sounds crazy and inane – yes you want to lose weight – but WHY? If you are a hundred pounds overweight then obviously a diet is the way to go, but often we don’t really need to go on a diet. There are other options like increasing your exercise a little, limiting a few of the luxuries for a while until those few extra pounds come off, walking to work instead of driving … etc
It’s important to know WHY, because if the reason isn’t a sound, solid, good reason, you’re never going to sustain a diet. Then when you fail your self-esteem will take a bump it doesn’t need to, so before taking on a diet, make sure you want to or that you have to and therefore that you have the required motivation to diet.
If you just need to lose a few pounds then perhaps try one of these before you head off and get into a diet:
1. Why have you gained those few extra pounds?
If its Christmas flab, thanksgiving love handles, or Easter egg tummies that you’re worried about then don’t despair. Chances are if you abstain from the things that piled on the pounds over Christmas, then over time those pounds will disappear. Of course this takes patience. To speed up the weight loss, try cutting out some everyday luxuries, like the sugar from your coffee, that extra slice of toast. If you write a food diary every day for a week, you’ll probably find a more than you’d expect that you can cut out to shed those extra kilo’s.
I keep a diary of my eating for a week and then carefully analyse what I’m eating. Just cutting out two cups of coffee per day can help me shed two or three pounds a month and you won’t really even know you’re being deprived. I’ve substituted a glass of water for two cans of soda a day and lost all the weight I needed without even going on a diet.
If deprivation isn’t your style, then try upping the exercise a little. I don’t mean hitting the gym and going frantic. Things like parking at the end of the parking lot instead of right by the shops and walking. Parking a few extra blocks from your job. Walking to the shops, not driving. I find exercise cloaked like this doesn’t really feel like exercise to me and I soon lose those extra kilo’s.
If you’ve picked up weight gradually and its not just a few pounds then you may need to take some drastic measures. But I also try the above first because I hate diets and exercise regimens and I avoid them at all costs. Then again, I have the willpower of a squirrel.
Of course, if you have not time to waste then check out the Emergency Gut Shrinker. It promises to shrink your gut in 48 hours. It looks like its worth a read.
What techniques have you found to avoid those dreaded diets?
Let me know.
Brigitta
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