All Diets Work: No Diets Work

Have you lost weight in the past only to regain it a short time later? Have you followed every diet including Atkins, South Beach, the Drinking Man's diet, the Peanut Butter diet, or even the Chocolate Diet? All of these diets work, and none of them work, meaning, you can and probably do lose weight on any of them, but you won't keep it off. Why not? Because the day will come when the diet is over and you're right back to your regular routine; the same routine that got you fat in the first place.

In the past diets carried a warning not to stay on them longer than the prescribed period; usually two weeks. Today's popular diets are attempting to style themselves as lifestyle choices, but this isn't working either. People want to be able to eat a sandwich now and then. They want the bun! Strive for balance, and choose the foods you prefer and you'll have a better chance at success.

The main idea with a "weight loss diet plan" is a significant reduction in calories. Very few diet plans even point out that physical activity is a reliable way to lose weight without sacrificing valuable muscle tissue in the process. They don't mention exercise because it's not popular. We equate exercise with gym class and that wasn't fun. People don't want to exercise, and they don't really want to eat differently; they just want to lose weight and they want it done yesterday.

Small Changes: Big Answer to Weight Loss Blues

Here's what I recommend to my clients; this may make sense for you too. Start today, and work one day at a time making one or two small changes such as switching to the calorie-free soft drinks and then weaning yourself down to one or two a day. It doesn't have to be drastic. In fact, trying to make drastic changes in your lifestyle never work because while you may be happy in the beginning, you slowly grow into miserable toward the end. In fact, that's the problem right there: you anticipate an end.

Weight Loss Comes Down to Choices

Talk to people who've lost weight and kept it off and they'll tell you, "There is no end." It's about choices you make every day. Are you choosing to take an extra helping, even though you're comfortably full? Change that one behavior and you're on your way. Do you choose to take the bag of chips to the couch? Change that, in fact, stop eating on the couch entirely, and you're one step closer. Eliminate the habit of grabbing a few bites on your way past the candy dish, and that alone can shave several pounds. I once lost 8 pounds simply by eliminating the candy dish I kept at my desk (not to mention the money I saved).

Choose one small habit or behavior at a time, not your entire existence, and you'll have a much better chance to reach your weight loss goals.

Kathryn Martyn, Master NLP Practitioner, EFT counselor, Weight Loss Mentor and owner of OneMoreBite-WeightLoss.com is the author of "Changing Beliefs, Your First Step to Permanent Weight Loss," and "5 Steps to Blast Through Weight Loss Plateaus."

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