Diet Smiet! -- How To Diet Effectively

With 2013 coming to a close, we are right on the cusp of  "New Year, New Me!" mantras and the "get in the gym and get healthy" New Year's resolutions. As many people focus on exercise and weight loss, most people don't know how to adjust their diet to align with their wellness goals. Personal trainers can be expensive and all of the different diets can be confusing; making it difficult to make healthier food choices. And conveniently enough most of the fast, easy, cheap foods tend to be the most detrimental. Whether you are a student, parent, business owner, or someone who is just trying to live a healthier, these effective dieting tips will assist you in achieving and maintaining that lifestyle.

1.       Don’t listen to what others tell you to cut out of your diet!– Everyone's body is different, some people respond to certain diets better than others. Many foods can be unhealthy if they are not consumed in moderation. So instead of cutting out just about everything you eat and acquiring a brand new diet, create your own personal diet plan. Do your research and make a list of the foods you tend to eat that you know are unhealthy and healthy foods you don't eat that you'd like to start including. From there decide what unhealthy foods you can go without eating and what you cannot possibly live without (For me that would be chocolate!) Use this to determine your diet and what you will cut out. A personalized diet is much easier to stick to long term, and the healthier eating decision you make will go from a forced diet to habit.

2.       Meal Planning – This may seem like a daunting task but it is an essential one. Knowing what you will eat beforehand helps to keep you on track with you diet plan. If you wait until you are hungry, the more likely you are to make decisions based off cravings, impulse and availability. All of which make it more likely for you to eat something unhealthy. If planning for an entire week at a time is too overwhelming, try starting with a few days at a time and working up to a week. You can also plan and account for cheat days and not-so-healthy foods you refuse to go without eating.
 
3.       Find Healthy Substitutes. – Determine why you crave the foods you do (e.g. you want something sweet or something crunchy) and find healthier substitutes. This can help you replace the unhealthy foods you’ve kicked out of your diet as well as curb your cravings for the unhealthy foods you once thought you couldn’t live without. Healthier substitutes also applies to cooking as well.

4.       Keep Healthy Snacks.­ – The same concept of meal planning applies here. Be Prepared. Once you decide on the healthier substitutes, always have a stash of them available. This will keep you from making stops at the gas station or the vending machine to grab some candy and chips.

5.       Eat Smaller Portions. – Just because you can stuff yourself doesn’t mean you should. The amount of food you need to eat in order to feel full is significantly lower than the amount of food you eat to feel stuffed. Eating too much food is just as damaging to your health as eating unhealthy foods. When you eat more than your body needs it stores the extras for later use. If you continuously overeat without using what was already stored, your body will continue to build up it's (fat) stores and eventually your belly, thighs and flabby arms will start to expose your poor eating habits.

6. Don't Quit! – Remember the goal is to live a healthier lifestyle. If you have a week where you get off track, don't let go of the entire mission! We've all seen people do intense diets and workouts to lose a lot of weight as quickly as possible. And once they reach their goal they go right back to the same unhealthy habits and gain the weight right back. The purpose of these tips is to help you implement a realistic plan to not only achieve but maintain a healthy lifestyle.