Dieting Wisdom

Everything You
Always Wanted
To Know About
Dieting...
But Never Dared To Ask!
Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Dieting But Never Dared To Ask!- 1
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS..................................................2
1
WHY ARE THERE SO MANY DIFFERENT DIET PLANS?. 4
DIETS FOR DIFFERENT BODY TYPES.......................................4
ThE ECTOMORPH........................................................................4
ThE ENDOMORPH........................................................................4
ThE MESOMORPH........................................................................5
HOW BODY TYPE AFFECTS DIET AND FITNESS................................5
DIETS THAT RESTRICT QUANTITY OR TYPES OF FOODS.........6

NUTRITIONAL DIETS..............................................................6
NUTRITION AND HEALTH.............................................................7
NUTRITION AND AGE..................................................................7
DIETS THAT MAKE A STATEMENT............................................7

DIETS THAT INCREASE FITNESS.............................................8
DIETS THAT WORK WITH PILLS OR SUPPLEMENTS................9
CUSTOMIZED PROGRAMS OR PLANS.......................................9
WEIGHT WATCHERS....................................................................9
ATKINS DIET............................................................................10
THE SOUTH BEACH DIET............................................................10
THE ZONE DIET........................................................................11
THE BODY FOR LIFE DIET...........................................................11
MANY OTHER DIET PLANS..........................................................12
RISKY DIET FADS..................................................................12

LAXATIVES...............................................................................12
DIURETICS...............................................................................13
FASTING..................................................................................13
PURGING.................................................................................13
INTENSE EXERCISE...................................................................13
MONITOR AND SUPPORT SOMEONE DIETING................................13
2
WHICH DIET IS RIGHT FOR YOU?.............................15
YOUR INITIAL PHYSICAL EXAM AND DOCTORS
CONSULTATION....................................................................16
EVALUATING YOUR GOALS....................................................17
WEIGHT LOSS GOALS................................................................17
FITNESS GOALS........................................................................17
NUTRITIONAL NEEDS.................................................................18
HEALTH GOALS.........................................................................19
PICKING A DIET TO COMPLEMENT YOUR LIFESTYLE.............19

MANAGING THE DIET BUDGET..............................................20
CLEANING OUT AND RE-STOCKING THE PANTRY..................21
3
REPLACING BAD HABITS WITH GOOD ONES............22
PLANNING YOUR DAY AHEAD...............................................22
EATING REGULARLY IN SMALL PORTIONS............................23
DRINKING LOW-CALORIE DRINKS........................................23
INCREASING MOVEMENT......................................................24
DECREASING STRESS TRIGGERS...........................................25
GOOD SHOPPING HABITS.....................................................26
4
KEEPING TRACK OF YOUR GOALS............................29
WEIGHING IN.......................................................................29
MUSCLE GAIN AND BODY FAT MEASUREMENTS....................30
DIET JOURNALING................................................................32
WRITING DOWN FOODS.......................................................32
GIVE YOURSELF KUDOS FOR FITNESS..................................33
TRACKING THE VITAL STATISTICS.......................................34
DIET SPREADSHEETS AND PROGRAMS..................................34
5
ADDITIONAL STRATEGIES TO LOSE WEIGHT...........36
DONT GO IT ALONE..............................................................37
WEIGHT LOSS GROUPS..............................................................37
FAMILY SUPPORT......................................................................37
FITNESS OR DIET PARTNER........................................................38
PROFESSIONAL COACH..............................................................39
VIRTUAL SUPPORT....................................................................40
PICK YOUR REWARDS...........................................................40

LIST OF SMALL REWARDS..........................................................41
LIST OF LARGE REWARDS..........................................................42
GROUP REWARDS.....................................................................42
VISUALIZE IT........................................................................43
SAMPLE VISUALIZATIONS..........................................................43
USING PROPS FOR VISUALIZATIONS...........................................44
FINDING OTHER SOURCES OF COMFORT..............................44

SPIRITUAL STRENGTH...............................................................45
AFFIRMATIONS.........................................................................45
SELF-PAMPERING......................................................................46
SOCIAL INTERACTIONS..............................................................47
CHANGE YOUR ROUTINE............................................................47
THE LIFE MAINTENANCE PLAN..............................................49
1
WHY ARE THERE SO MANY
DIFFERENT DIET PLANS?
There are as many diet plans out there as there are reasons to lose weight.
It isnt just a question of cutting calories when the reason to lose weight may
be to look fitter or to be healthier. There are different approaches to diets to
help take into account weight loss for health reasons, for fitness, for lifestyle
choices, for image, and even for budget concerns. Your goal of weight loss is
just a generic term used to describe many of these factors that are also
involved in a good diet plan. In order to understand what diet plan might be
good for you, you have to ask yourself what your primary reasons are to lose
weight and have substantial knowledge on the different diet plans to make
an informed choice.
DIETS FOR DIFFERENT BODY TYPES

We all know people who can eat anything and never gain weight. Scientific
evidence points to a difference in metabolism and body type to account for
the difference in how fast people gain weight or muscle. There are three
scientifically based body types, but some diet plans have designated as many
as 25 different body types for their diet plans.
THE ECTOMORPH
This body type is characterized by a naturally skinny appearance. The shape
is linear; with low body fat and small muscle mass. The shoulders hips and
waist are narrow to the eye. The metabolism is ultra-quick which allows
ectomorphs to eat a lot and rarely gain weight. However, if they try to gain
muscle, it can also be a very difficult proposition and require enormous
amounts of food to add bulk to the body frame. This is the body type that
has become popular with models and teenagers.
THE ENDOMORPH
A round body with a large number of fat cells characterizes this body type.
They typically have round faces, wide hips, and are big-boned too. The
metabolism is the slowest of all the body types and can make losing weight
difficult. Muscle mass can be high along with body fat.
THE MESOMORPH
This body type is naturally muscular. The waist is small, the shoulders are
broad, and it is associated with an athletic build. People with this body type
have a low body fat percentage while being able to retain muscle mass. This
is the best type of body builder who doesnt have to work hard to look fit, but
may not necessarily look skinny. The metabolism works well and can adjust
quickly to new conditions.
Whats important to note about the body types is that each body type gains
and loses weight differently. They respond differently to different diets and
training fitness programs. Body type can also change over time depending on
your diet and fitness. While its not as simple as looking in the mirror to
ascertain what body type you have as most people have a combination of
different body types in their make-up. Also, its a very difficult thing to
determine hormone levels and metabolism, which affect body type, without
some form of medical check-up with body fat to muscle ratios taken too.
However, if your family has a predominant body type and you exhibited that
body type as a child, this is most likely the body type you are working with
now.
HOW BODY TYPE AFFECTS DIET AND FITNESS
Since metabolism and body type determine how easily one gains weight or
muscle, knowing the body type you have can help you determine what diet
and exercise programs are right for you.
Endomorphs, people with round bodies who are typically trying to lose
weight, need to take great care with carbohydrate intake. They also hold
water very well and can gain weight easily. They respond well to lowcarbohydrate diets or diets that cycle through different low carbohydrates,
protein, and low fat ratios. High intensity cardio exercise is good to help lose
weight for this body type and should be done in short intervals, anywhere
from 10 to 25 minute high intensity cardio exercises per session.
Ectomorphs, on the other hand, have to load up on carbohydrates to gain
muscle. The best diet for an ectomorph trying to gain muscle fitness is one of
high carbohydrates and a moderate amount of fat. They should also eat more
frequently if they are trying to diet for fitness. This body type doesnt have to
diet to lose weight, as their problem is keeping muscle on. Instead of dieting
to lose weight, they should increase physical exercise to lose weight while
becoming more toned. Slow cardiovascular exercise is good for this body
type.
Mesomorphs are the most flexible of dieters and fitness users. Just about
anything works for them because their metabolism adjusts quickly to
changes in diet or exercise.
DIETS THAT RESTRICT QUANTITY OR TYPES OF

FOODS
Another way to approach diet is to limit specific foods or manage portion
size. These diets concentrate on losing weight or obtaining a desired health
goal, but dont do much for fitness. There are a number of philosophies that
account for different diets that have to do with categorizing and limiting
certain foods. There are food programs for any number of different ways to
eliminate whole categories of food. For instance, people on diabetic diets
often restrict foods on the high gylcemic index for medical reasons. These
foods also tend to be high in calories and cause weight gain too.
Some people suggest that portions of the population are sensitive to
particular elements in the diet that can cause all kinds of fitness problems
and weight gain. These diets typically focus on eliminating things like wheat
gluten, dairy and/or sugar. Its believed that by eliminating foods that are
difficult for some people to digest the persons body becomes more efficient
and it is easier to maintain an optimum weight.
Other diets are based solely on the idea that some foods have a higher
caloric value while others have less. Some foods are high in fat and others
are not. By understanding which foods have a higher potential to pack the
pounds, you can avoid foods, which contribute to weight gain. Or, if limiting
the food is too painful some diet plans come with pre-packed portion controls
to make sure you dont indulge in too many calories.
Still more diets have a philosophical basis that eating some foods like meat
are wrong for the planet and high in caloric intake too. So, some people
undertake diets to lose weight and to maintain a particular lifestyle or make
a social statement by eliminating or restricting particular foods from their
diet.
NUTRITIONAL DIETS
Besides diets that restrict foods, there are diet plans that increase nutrition
for health or muscle building purposes. Most diets on the market today are a
combination of calorie restriction and nutrition management. Its important to
lose weight, but not at the expense of important vitamins and minerals
necessary for good health. So, many diets take into account that proper
nutrition is essential for people, particularly for people who may be suffering
from medical conditions or whose age requirements dictate specific
nutritional guidelines.
NUTRITION AND HEALTH
If you are suffering from a medical condition or even noticing signs of poor
nutrition like hair loss, brittle nails, and bad skin tone, then you might want
to make sure the diet you are on is giving you the proper nutrition. People
with heart problems, for instance, would want to diets high-protein diets only
as this might cause them to raise their cholesterol levels to dangerous levels
for them. People with diabetes in the family might be better off with less
high-sugar fruits in their diet, even though they are nutritious for most
people. If you have problems with irregular bowel movements, you need to
make sure you get enough fiber while reducing food intake. If you have
specific medical or genetic weaknesses that can be aggravated by diet, you
need to know what they are and make sure the nutrition you get will be
something healthy for you in the long run.
NUTRITION AND AGE
Our culture has been producing more and more obese children, but putting
them on diets can be tricky. Children have specific dietary needs that cant
be limited (like calcium for growing bones) without affecting the growth
process. Anytime you are thinking of putting your children on a diet the best
thing you can do is to check with a nutritionist to make sure the diet you
choose will give them the necessary nutrition they need to grow healthy
while limiting caloric intake.
On the other end of the scale, people who are in their senior years also
require customized nutrition plans. If you are trying to lose weight and you
are much older, you have to be certain that how you choose to lose weight
wont affect your overall health. The same way that children need calcium for
growing bones, older people need it to maintain bone density and avoid
osteoporosis.
DIETS THAT MAKE A STATEMENT

People can take on diets to make a social statement. Some vegetarians
believe that eating meat is not being socially responsible. It takes far more
resources to produce a pound of steak than it does to produce a pound of
grain. In addition, the violence with which animals are slaughtered for
consumption can be too much for people with delicate social consciences.
Whether you agree or not with these choices, being a vegetarian is a great
way to lose weight too.
Another benefit to being a vegetarian is that the risk of certain cancers has
been shown to be reduced under a vegetarian diet. The diet budget can be
less expensive than a conventional diet with meat, unless the fruits and
vegetables are organic. You can learn a valuable lifestyle that not only keeps
the pounds off but saves you money too.
Vegetarian diets do affect nutrition and have to be carefully monitored to
make sure there are enough proteins in and calcium in the diet to support
good bone growth and other health issues.
The diet can be hard to follow if you are eating out, but many establishments
now have vegetarian fare on their menu. If you are looking for great lowcalorie alternatives when you eat out, just stick with vegetarian entrees.
A vegetarian lifestyle can mean that you have to work harder at
understanding the proper nutrition and finding recipes that appeal to you.
Most people who are vegetarian dont do it for weight loss reasons, although
it can be used temporarily to lose weight. If you suffer from fatigue or
anemic conditions, this diet would not be good for you.
One of the great things about vegetarian diets or macrobiotic diets is that
you begin to learn about the various different types of foods in detail. The
focus on whole grains keeps you from eating processed foods and provides
the energy missing from the meat loss.
DIETS THAT INCREASE FITNESS

As discussed earlier, some diets are set upon to increase fitness instead of
decreasing weight. This type of diet is more interested in increasing muscle
mass than just restricting caloric intake. Sometimes, as in the case of an
ectomorph, calories are actually increased to get to the desired level of
fitness!
Diets that increase fitness are typically geared to include an exercise
program to provide the strength and endurance training necessary to build
muscle mass. Foods are geared to work with the diet program and have
additional elements to help build muscle. To that aim, people trying to
increase muscle mass will also increase protein and carbohydrates in their
diet significantly. People who are trying to build muscle will often eat
significant portions of lean meat as they are made up of first class proteins.
Fat is still limited within the diet, however. Since exercise is a normal part of
a diet plan for fitness, it is necessary to increase some food quantities to help
have energy to build muscle.
DIETS THAT WORK WITH PILLS OR

SUPPLEMENTS
There are pills and supplements on the market that are diet aides. There are
prescription and non-prescription diet pills. There are natural supplements.
They all work by various mechanisms: appetite suppression, increasing
metabolism, inhibiting the bodys ability to absorb nutrients, or to provide
enhanced nutrients. There is a great controversy over whether diet pills are
safe or even effective. The FDA does not regulate many of them.
Since they raise the metabolism in some cases, they can have negative side
effects on the nervous system. Some people claim that this produces an
addictive sensation like a stimulant. Some of the ingredients in diet pills and
supplements, like ephedrine, have been linked to heart attacks, seizures and
strokes. For the most part, health professionals do not think that pills or
supplements are the best route to losing weight. However, there are many
prescription pills available that can be taken under a doctors supervision.
CUSTOMIZED PROGRAMS OR PLANS

The study and science of diet programs is vast and it can lead to being
overwhelmed with information. Even when you choose an approach, you still
might be a bit confused on what a good portion size is, how many times to
exercise during the week, or what foods to eat and when. Thats why there
are a variety of customize programs available to help people meet their
weight loss goals while being guided every step of the way.
WEIGHT WATCHERS
Weight Watchers was originally a discussion group that met to discuss
different methods of weight loss. Now, it is a franchise company that offers
diet plans, products, and support for people trying to lose weight. Its flex
program includes a diet and fitness portion, with the diet plan consisting of a
positive point value system for calories and the fitness being given negative
points. They do not restrict any foods on the flex program. Rather, progress
is tracked by how well one keeps to the daily number of points assigned per
day for an individual, by summing the food and exercise point system. Foods
are sold in pre-packaged portions with the point count on the labels.
Guidance and support is offered by group members and leaders to help one
keep to the program and effectively lose weight. Weight Watchers has also
introduced other programs that restrict certain foods, in a nod towards other
popular diets.
This type of program appeals to people who want a program that is
customized and micromanaged by experts in their field. They can be
reasonably assured that their weight loss goals can be met, if they keep to
the plan. However, other people find it invasive and dont like meeting with
others to discuss their weight issues. The cost of special Weight Watcher
foods can also add up quickly. Online programs are available for those that
dislike the face-to-face interaction in public.
ATKINS DIET
This diet was very popular and consisted of a high-protein, low carbohydrate
diet to lose weight. The key element was to restrict foods that were high in
carbohydrates and refined sugars. It went contrary to most diet advice
indicating that fat was to be avoided and instead urged a high-protein meat
diet. The diet works to induce a state of ketosis where weight loss can be
significant due to an increase in metabolism. Carbohydrates are then
reintroduced in the diet and increased over three more stages, but still
somewhat restricted to continue weight loss goals.
Dr. Atkins wrote a book that popularized the diet. He founded a company to
produce and distribute Atkins food products. Many of these products are lowcarbohydrate versions of favorite high-carbohydrate foods like breads and
pasta. There arent any public company-authorized groups designed to
discuss weight loss goals but the diet is very easy to follow. Dr. Atkins
advocated exercise along with the diet but many people chose to do the diet
alone and found it helped them to lose weight. The diet is criticized for not
being nutritious by the food pyramid standards. The Atkins low-carbohydrate
food products are generally much higher in expense than regular
carbohydrates like breads and pastas. It is the same diet for everyone and
doesnt take into account any individual differences in body type or
metabolism rate. Its aim is to speed up the metabolism as quickly as possible
for everyone.
THE SOUTH BEACH DIET
The South Beach diet is similar to the Atkins diet in that it doesnt limit
portions or count calories and its main aim is to lose weight. However, it
goes a step further and defines a good carbohydrate from a bad
carbohydrate, instead of avoiding all carbohydrates. In addition, fats are also
evaluated and bad fats that contribute to cardiovascular disease are
Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Dieting But Never Dared To Ask!10
limited. The diet works in phases, like the Atkins diet, and there are a very
limited number of foods on the phase I portion of the diet. Whole grains are
introduced in the second phase and foods that are low on the glycemic index
are also allowed. The South Beach diet does not have public discussion
groups like Weight Watchers, nor is it a franchised company. However, Kraft
Foods makes a line of food products designed to conform to the South Beach
diet. These are more expensive than buying your own food, but they are not
necessary to follow the diet. They are a convenience.
THE ZONE DIET
The Zone diet is not a diet to lose weight as much as it is a way to promote
health. The concept of the Zone diet is to regulate hormone levels through a
diet, which consists of a 30:40 protein to carbohydrate ration, that this
produces natural anti-inflammatories that promote heart and overall health.
Included in this emphasis on health is the recommendation to take
supplements of Omega 3 fish oils for heart health. The diet does not restrict
calories even though many people use the diet for heart-healthy weight loss.
Even though Dr. Barry Sears, author of The Zone Diet, designed the diet for
heart health, the American Heart Association does not endorse it and they
consider it to lack proper nutrition while being too high in protein. The diet
can be a little harder to follow than other diets, but there are many websites
online dedicated to it. Products being sold for the Zone diet consist of diet
supplements like Omega-3 capsules.
THE BODY FOR LIFE DIET
The Body For Life diet is a 12-week weight loss and muscle building program.
Bill Phillips, the creator of the program, is a competitive body builder who
wrote a book on it. Meals are regulated to six times a day with portion
control being determined by the size of your open or clenched. Foods are
categorized and restricted by approved carbohydrates, proteins, and
vegetables. The use of supplements for health and fitness are recommended
from Omega-3 supplements to EAS (Phillips dietary supplement company)
supplements. Every week, one day is allowed where there are no restrictions.
The key difference to other types of programs is that The Body For Life
program includes detailed instructions on a daily exercise plan, which
includes weight training and aerobics. The books and videos concentrate on
understanding the proper way to do the exercises and the idea is to build
muscle instead of just losing fat.
MANY OTHER DIET PLANS

Diets come and go, and depending on your goals they may or may not be
good for you. In order to pick a diet plan or program, you really need to
understand what your primary goals are before, so that the progress you
make can inspire you to continue with the diet. If your primary goal is weight
loss, the Body For Life diet might be discouraging when you gain weight due
to muscle growth. Similarly, if you want to maintain heart health, the Atkins
diet may not work for you. As new research is done on the way the body
loses weight, new diets appear on the market or in books. If you know what
your goals are, you can decide instantly whether its a diet you are interested
or think you can do. Just be careful not to fall into any diet plans that put
your health at risk or causes you undue stress.
RISKY DIET FADS

Losing weight is an admirable goal if you are not already underweight to
begin with or affecting your health. With the incidence of eating disorders
being diagnosed more and more in our society, its important to keep health
at the forefront of any diet restriction. Anytime a diet recommends using
things that are ultimately bad for you for a temporary reduction in weight,
you can rest assured that it is a risky diet fad, which at times can turn
deadly.
Some risky diet fads include:
Laxatives
Diuretics
Fasting
Purging
Intense Exercise
LAXATIVES
Some people try to lose weight by using laxatives. Some herbal pills work
like laxatives but are sold as weight loss pills. Laxative abuse can result in
serious problems which can interrupt normal bowel movements, imbalance
the electrolytes in your system, which can result in malnutrition at best and
kidney failure at worst. Laxatives are not designed to be used long-term and
they are not a valid weight loss product.
DIURETICS
The abuse of diuretics to induce water loss and thus exhibit a weight loss.
They are powerful drugs that are meant to be used for high blood pressure,
but when abused they can lead to increased levels of uric acid in the blood.
This can cause anything from dizziness and headaches to an irregular
heartbeat or muscle paralysis.
FASTING
Fasting is very popular for teenagers as a means to lose weight. However, it
can cause problems with malnutrition and often be taken to extremes. This
can be a symptom of conditions like anorexia nervosa, an eating disorder,
which can ultimately be life-threatening. If you notice your teenager dropping
weight quickly and they claim to be on a diet, make sure they are eating. No
well-balanced diet should include fasting for long periods of time as a method
to lose weight.
PURGING
Another eating disorder called bulimia can start as a way to control weight
through purging, and ultimately cause many difference health issues. This
can be harder to spot, as the person purging may remain their normal weight
range, unlike people suffering from anorexia nervosa. Left untreated, the
repeated cycle of binging and purging can result in numerous health
problems from tooth decay and digestive problems to heart damage and
infertility.
INTENSE EXERCISE
Proper diets do require exercise but they should be appropriate to the fitness
level of the person dieting. Anytime someone is trying to lose weight through
intense exercise and they are not being supervised, there is a potential for
injury and heart problems. Exercise should be used to help achieve weight
loss goals in moderate and healthy ways.
MONITOR AND SUPPORT SOMEONE DIETING
If you believe someone close to you is putting their risk at health through
risky diet fads, you can take them aside and make them aware of the health
issues involved. Do not criticize or mention their weight loss or gain, simply
talk to them about your concerns that they may be jeopardizing their health.
If the person is a child under your care, monitor their eating habits to see if
they could be developing an eating disorder. If they are, you need to get
them appropriate counseling before the eating disorder gets out of hand and
costs them their life.
2
WHICH DIET IS RIGHT FOR
YOU?
Now that its understood that there are many different diets to address many
different goals and needs, you may be wondering which diet is right for you.
In order to determine that, you will need to follow some guidelines on
assessing your present physical health, your lifestyle, your finances and
weight loss requirements. By taking a good hard look at where you are
presently starting from, you can figure out where it is that you need to go.
To do your initial assessment properly, you will need to get some
professional opinions on your present health situation and what might be
reasonable goals for you to attempt. It will differ with each person.
Some people are severely overweight and cant move well, much less do
strenuous exercise. In addition, the additional weight can put a heavy burden
on the heart. The main goal in this case is to lose weight while making sure
that there are no additional heart stressors due to the diet. Later, exercise
can be introduced.
Other people might be endomorphs and have difficulty maintaining a weight
loss program for life. They might need some sort of diet that can be modified
for a life plan to obtain best results, as their metabolism will cause them to
add pounds once they are off a diet. In this case, if they are not severely
overweight and merely trying to adjust their metabolisms to lose weight
more than gaining, then they will want to go on diets that target the
metabolism and have a life maintenance plan.
Consider all the factors in your life to help you achieve your goals. Consider
your body type, whether youve shown any indications of food sensitivities
that can irritate health and weight, what your familys medical and genetic
history is like, how much nutrition you need for your age, whether its
important to be toned as well as skinnier, and just exactly how much weight
do you need to lose to be in your optimum weight range.
Gather as much information as you can on any factors you think might
aggravate your weight condition like prescription medication you are taking,
a sedentary occupation, and eating habits that are out of control. Take a
good honest look at yourself and then when you think you have a handle on
what factors are involved in your weight gain, schedule an appointment for a
physical with your local doctor. They will be able to get your initial weight,
answer questions on you whether an approach you are considering is healthy
with your medical history, and give you an idea of the optimum weight for
your target goal.
YOUR INITIAL PHYSICAL EXAM AND DOCTORS

CONSULTATION
If youve already evaluated all the factors you think might be a consideration
for why you might be overweight, then you can start working up a baseline
by visiting the doctors office. A thorough physical can also help eliminate the
possibility that your weight gain is due to some other medical issue that
might be serious. Set up a physical exam before starting any physical fitness
program or diet. Have your teenagers checked out by a physician as well if
they are constantly dieting or preoccupied with their weight as a first line of
defense against eating disorders. Your doctor will probably want a history of
your lifestyle and eating habits, so its important to evaluate those things
before you show up.
One of the most important measurements that you will need as a baseline is
the body mass index (BMI). While you can estimate your own BMI, as will be
discussed later in this e-book, you need to have an accurate representation
of your BMI from a health professional or fitness counselor when you first
start. They will not only take into account your age and your gender, and will
be plotted out so you can visually see where you stand with respect to the
average weight of most people in your group. Your doctor may also take into
account your body frame and your medical history when determining
whether you are really overweight or not. He or she can also tell you about
other ways to measure your weight or muscle gain so that you can more
accurately track your progress.
If you are considering a particular diet, be sure to ask the doctor if he or she
feels you can go on it safely. Most doctors can give you dietary
recommendations, which may or may not meet your lifestyle choices.
However, its always up to you what diet you decide to follow and for how
long, but you should take your doctors recommendations into account. The
point of the medical exam is to screen out any potentially risky health
problems that can be aggravated by diet or new fitness programs, while
giving you an accurate baseline and realistic expectations for weight loss for
your body type.
Upon getting your height, weight, and BMI measurements, you will want to
go home and see if your scale is reflecting the same weight. By calibrating
your scale according to what the doctors office said, you could make sure
that you are taking accurate measurements throughout your diet, helping
you to track your weight loss progress better.
EVALUATING YOUR GOALS

Some of the things you want to discuss with your doctor so that you can pick
a diet plan that is perfect for you, are your weight loss goals, your fitness
goals, your nutritional needs, an your health considerations. This will give
you an idea of what realistic expectations are, so you wont be discouraged.
WEIGHT LOSS GOALS
You may want to lose your weight as quickly as possible, but the best way to
lose weight is through gradual weight loss. This gradual weight loss will give
your body time to adjust your metabolism and increase the odds that the
weight will take on a more permanent nature. Losing weight too quickly,
especially if one is obese, can put a severe strain on the heart and other
organs. Its best to go slowly and have realistic expectations. Its not
unreasonable to get on a diet with the expectation to lose about two pounds
a week. If you are more ambitious than that, you will want to check with
your physician as to whether you are healthy enough to attempt a more
rapid weight loss program.
After you find out what your ideal weight is, you dont have to attempt to
lose all the weight you want in one diet. You can opt to lose only 10% of your
weight overall and have a significant impact on your health. If your goal is
for fitness and not for weight loss, it may not be as important to lose all the
weight, as it is to lose what you can in a reasonable amount of time.
Remember to try to set realistic expectations and know whether the weight
loss goals are for image or for fitness. If you can be honest with yourself at
the beginning, there will be less of a chance that you will be discouraged
when you arent noticing anything visibly different in the mirror. If the other
measurements are showing an increase in muscle mass with a slight
decrease in weight, than you have just increased your overall health. The
more you stick with it, the more likely the visible difference will begin to
show after enough time. Take one day at a time and dont try to set goals
which may not be reachable, much less realistic, within the amount of time
you are intending to diet.
FITNESS GOALS
In the rush to lose weight, people often sign up for gym memberships right
after the holidays. If you have never been someone to exercise that much
before you got a gym membership, odds are having one wont make much
difference. Your fitness goals have to be something that you think you can do
and that fits in with your lifestyle and current fitness level. If youve led a
sedentary lifestyle for years, you cant expect to go to a gym and do an hour
class on aerobics without feeling quite winded and dejected afterwards.
Like weight loss, fitness can be included in your daily routine at a moderate
level to lose weight. There are a variety of fitness options that dont involve a
gym membership, if you are short on cash. You can, for instance, learn to
schedule exercise by walking a total of 20 minutes a day. If you want to
increase muscle mass, then you will need to do resistance or weight training
for the best results.
To set realistic goals for fitness; take into account your lifestyle. You may
find that including recreational dancing is a form of fitness that works well
with your personality and is fun too. If you can increase the enjoyment factor
in your daily physical routine, you are more likely to stick with it. This isnt to
suggest that you must enjoy exercising, simply that if you find some pleasure
in it you are more likely to stick with it. Some people prefer to get fit through
exercises like yoga or Tai Chi, which at their beginner levels are less
strenuous than aerobic exercises but can produce great results.
Fitness goals should include exercising three to five times a week for 20 to
60 minutes while reaching a target heart rate of 60-85% of your maximum
intensity level. This will increase your cardiovascular fitness. If you want to
add muscle tone, you will need to add two days a week of weight training
with eight to ten different exercises in strength training, each having three to
ten repetitions. These should also be done at about 70-85% of your
maximum intensity level.
You will need to start slowly and gradually build up intensity and endurance.
Try to set up a daily schedule and find a fitness partner, if you are unsure
whether youll stick to the schedule on your own. Having someone who can
help motivate you on those days when youd rather not exercise is a great
way to keep to your fitness goals. The point is to keep moving while you are
dieting to help your metabolism swing into action and drop those pounds
faster.
NUTRITIONAL NEEDS
The FDA recommends an average diet of 2,000 calories per day. This number
of calories should be enough to get all your nutritional needs met, if you
arent eating pure junk. After consulting your doctor, he or she may tell you
what is the best caloric intake to meet your diet goals. They might suggest a
1,200-calorie a day diet. By reducing the number of calories, you will lose
weight, but you can also lose needed nutrients. If you start feeling sluggish
on your diet, you may need vitamins or minerals that are necessary to have
the energy to continue your physical fitness plan. At that point, you may
need to add nutritional supplements to your diet to get what you arent
getting in your diet.
If you are dieting and want to appear toned as well, you may actually have
an increase in a specific nutritional need. The diet has to take that into
account. For instance, to build muscle, you will want to keep some
carbohydrates in your diet and increase protein significantly. To lose weight
without too much exercise, however, some people just cut carbohydrates out
as much as possible for a period of time.
Your nutritional needs will also be affected by your current state of health. If
you are older, you may want to increase your calcium intake to help prevent
osteoporosis. If you are at risk for pregnancy, you dont want to diet because
lack of certain vitamins during pregnancy can cause birth defects. Always be
very careful to make sure you are getting the appropriate nutrition, even
when you are dieting.
HEALTH GOALS
If you are dieting because you have a specific medical condition or health
problem that must be treated with diet, then you want to be clear about
those goals from the start. If your aim is to reduce the amount of sugar in
your diet because your family has a history of diabetes, then you will want to
go on a diet that has foods that are low on the glycemic scale. If you are
dieting because you have wheat-gluten intolerance, then you are going to
have to be very careful about the foods you eat and fitness may not be a
factor at all. If you are dieting to reduce the amount of cholesterol in your
diet, your doctor might steer you to a diet that the American Heart
Association recommends.
In these cases, the measurements you are interested in are not body weight,
but maybe blood sugar or cholesterol levels. You will need to have these
monitored periodically, to be able to tell how well you are meeting your
health goals.
PICKING A DIET TO COMPLEMENT YOUR

LIFESTYLE
Hopefully, by now, you are getting an idea that not all diets are great for
everyone. However, there should be a diet out there that is perfect for you. If
you pick a diet that complements your goals and lifestyle, you can be more
assured of succeeding with those goals. This doesnt mean that if you hate
exercise, dont pick a diet that includes a fitness plan. It means you may
have to get creative about what types of fitness you can tolerate and slowly
build up movement in your day.
If you have a particularly hectic lifestyle, it may be unreasonable to expect
that you can devout three days to a gym workout. Similarly, if you are never
at home, you may not be able to follow a diet that requires you to cook your
own meals. However, many diet and gym plans now understand that todays
consumer has very little time. Thats why gyms sometimes offer on-site
daycare for hectic mothers and diet plans make prepackaged meals that one
can throw in a microwave. Its all a question of how well these things fit into
your daily routine. If your occupation takes the majority of your day and it
requires you to be sedentary, you may end up having to improvise on
exercise and find some that you can do while seated at your desk.
Add variety to your plans. Dont eat the same foods all the time. Try to pick a
variety of exercise possibilities so that if it rains or you are not willing to do
one type of exercise one day, you can do a different set and still be moving.
Boredom is one reason many people quit diet or exercise plans. If you
carefully plan to keep yourself motivated and interested in the diet, you
wont be as likely to quit.
When you are cooking for your family, dont cook one set of meals for
yourself and another for your family. You need a diet that the entire family
can follow without feeling deprived. If youre eating celery while everyone
else is eating steak, all this leads to is resentment and a loss of will power.
Stay positive and make the program a family health program. Its very
important to consider your lifestyle when picking a diet plan.
MANAGING THE DIET BUDGET

Obviously, customized diet programs like Weight Watchers can be more
expensive than do-it-yourself approaches. If you need the additional support
that customized diet programs can provide, you will want to understand the
financial aspects that go along with diet programs. There are some lists that
indicate that going on a diet can cost you more with diet foods ranging from
26% to 152% above your normal budget without diet foods. Forbes put out a
list of 10 popular diet plans in 2005 and none of them were less expensive
than not dieting. So, when you are going to get on a popular diet plan, you
have budget a little extra money. If you are unsure what the costs of a
weeks worth of menu are, you can research it online or query the program
managers on that.
In the Forbes article What 10 Diet Plans Cost the average weekly allowance
for one persons food without diet plans was estimated at $54.44. The South
Beach Diet was estimated in 2005 dollars as costing $78.61 per week.
Weight Watchers was estimated at $96.64. Jenny Craigs weight loss

program topped the chart with $137.65 per week of expenses. All these diets
can be tweaked at points to lessen the costs by replacing things like lobster
with other types of less expensive seafood. If budget is a big concern for
you, then you need to be very clear exactly how much the diet program will
cost and use that as one of your criteria when selecting a diet.
CLEANING OUT AND RE-STOCKING THE

PANTRY
After youve decided on a diet plan, you need to clear out all the food in your
pantry and refrigerator that does not comply with your diet. The last things
you want in your home are some leftover snack foods tempting you to bust
your diet. If your diet allows for a free day, considering getting rid of your
stash of snacks and buying them on your free day and only in the amount
that you could consume in one day.
You will want to go through all your foods from the refrigerator, to the
pantry, to your cooking oils and condiments. If you arent thorough in
replacing items like cooking oils and salad dressings, you can easily blow
your diet on one salad without even realizing it. After you have removed all
the items that dont conform to your diet, take time to load them into your
car and take them to the nearest food bank. Maybe you cant eat the food,
but someone else might be very happy to receive it.
You will want to go week by week and have your daily menus planned in
advance. If you are on a program like the Atkins Diet, they have guidelines
for weekly menus. Make sure when you go shopping that you have an idea
what you need to buy so that you are covered for all your meals. Put you
meal plan somewhere like taped to the refrigerator or in the kitchen where
you can figure out what you are supposed to be eating each day. Remember
to pack your meals for the next day, if you are working away from home. Try
to stock up the pantry with sufficient food for the week, so that you wont be
tempted to eat out.
Try to organize your kitchen, so that when you are looking for an approved
snack, you can easily locate them. If you wont have time to cook and you
are cooking your own meals, consider doing batch meals and storing them in
the refrigerator in containers that separate them into appropriate portion
sizes. If you are using Weight Watchers or The South Beach diet, you can
buy prepackaged meals from the grocery store already ready to eat. This can
save a lot of time in preparation.
3
REPLACING BAD HABITS WITH
GOOD ONES
To stay on any diet plan you have to cultivate good habits to replace bad
habits. If you only concentrate on limiting calories and denying yourself, a
diet can quickly lose its appeal. In order to stay focused and on task for the
long run, you also have to replace the bad habits you once had with good
ones. Discipline is important on a diet, but good planning can also help when
your will is not as strong to succeed. So, instead of willing yourself to
succeed, you plan your day so that you have no other choice but to succeed.
You make it difficult to stray off the path and the reward is that you lose
weight with less frustration.
Some of the good habits that you can cultivate are:
Planning Your Day Ahead

Eating Regularly In Small Portions
Drinking Low-Calorie Drinks
Increasing Movement
Decreasing Stress Triggers
Good Shopping Habits
PLANNING YOUR DAY AHEAD

By now, you know that good planning can help you to succeed. Each weeks
groceries should have been bought with the menu in mind. Take the menu
planned for each day of the week and consult that planner the night before.
Make sure you can follow the diet plan and have everything you need to do
so. Set the food apart and package it for travel, if it has to go to the office
with you. If you find that you are not able to comply with the meal for that
day, switch another days meal from the same week and go shopping the
following day for the missing foodstuff.
Keep in mind that if you are making meals instead of buying them
prepackaged that you should know how long it takes to prepare the meal.
You will want to be able to have that amount of time in your day so that you
arent tempted to go out for fast food at the last minute. If you find yourself
consistently not able to make your own meals according to the diet plan,
then your lifestyle may mean that you need a program that comes with
prepackaged foods.
You will also want to figure out when you might have time to exercise the
following day. Dont wait until you feel like it, since that may never happen.
Instead, look for opportunities in your day to fit in 20 minutes of fast walking
at lunchtime, if your schedule becomes too hectic.
EATING REGULARLY IN SMALL PORTIONS

One of the easiest ways to speed up your metabolism is to eat regularly in
small portions. You might be tempted to skip breakfast if you are on a calorie
counting diet, but this can slow down your metabolism and actually make it
harder to lose weight. Some diets are set up to have you eat four to six small
meals throughout the day. This maintains steady blood sugar levels and
keeps one from craving food in between meals. It also can help in reducing
constipation and aiding the digestion. This type of eating schedule is called
grazing because the frequency of the meals is increased but the portions
are decreased. You should not exceed your doctors recommended calorie
intake guidelines even though you are eating more meals.
Some people cant adjust to a grazing diet because they have rigid
schedules. They should still concentrate on only eating the amount of calories
allowed for that day. If you cant tell what a good portion is, use visual
imagery like your open hand or fits, or even the size of a stack of playing
cards to determine portion control. Have a method to give you an idea when
your portion is too large or too small, if you are not using prepackaged foods.
DRINKING LOW-CALORIE DRINKS

Most diets recommend water to drink. It has no calories and it serves the
purpose of hydrating the body, helping to eliminate toxins too. It supports
good metabolism functioning, which is important when you are dieting. The
daily recommendations for water are 8 cups of water per day. This may seem
like a lot, but water also is useful in making one feel full. If you dont like the
idea of drinking plain water, you can add a slice of lemon or orange to flavor
it slightly. You can even sweeten it with Stevia, a low-calorie natural
sweetener.
Some diets specifically limit drinks based on whether they have caffeine or
not. That means many people who are addicted to that morning cup of coffee
would automatically have difficulty staying on the diet. If you want to
continue with the diet regardless, you can substitute decaffeinated coffees
and/or replace some drinks with herbal uncaffeinated teas.
One of the biggest calorie hogs is the type of drinks we choose in our diet.
Carbonated sweetened beverages can easily destroy a diet and they are easy
to consume in multiples. Alcoholic beverages also have a high calorie content
for the size of the drink. Juices can be high in calories, but they are also high
in nutrition. The diet should specifically direct you as to which types of drinks
are allow and which are not. If your diet is based on nutrition, you might
want to include some fresh squeezed juices. If you have medical conditions
like Type II diabetes or insomnia, avoid drinks high in caffeine. Try to stock
up on good drinks, in your refrigerator or pantry, and get rid of the bad
drinks so you arent tempted to indulge.
When you are at a restaurant or other food establishment, realize that drinks
can look deceptively low-calorie and be otherwise. Many of the coffee drinks
popular today like cappuccinos and frapuccinos are loaded with cream and
sugar that can easily make them similar to burger with all the toppings in
calorie count. Try to stick with water when you are out or carry some drink in
your car for when you outside and thirsty.
INCREASING MOVEMENT
Your diet may or may not come with a fitness plan. If it does, then you will
probably need to get any equipment and plan to schedule exercise sessions
within your day. If your diet is for muscle tone, you will also need to add
some strength training. This can be done in the privacy of your own home
with just some barbells and other strength training equipment. You dont
have to have a full gym in your home to add some strength training. If youd
rather have an assortment of exercise equipment to build muscle, you can
join a gym and get some private instruction too. Its an individual choice.
However, most people who go on diets dont have a rigorous fitness plan and
toning may be quite secondary to losing weight. Its still important to
increase movement in your day to help the diet rev up the metabolism. It
may seem like more effort, but it can actually shorten the amount of time to
reach your target weight goal. If you are extraordinarily busy and cant find
time outside of work, look close to your work for a lunchtime venue for
exercise. Some walking, some cubicle calisthenics can always be fit in
somewhere. You might even get five minutes in simply parking your car at
the end of a large lot when you go shopping. Take the stairs instead of the
elevators to add some exercise during the day. Walk the dog more often. If
you plan for these slight changes in habits, it can pay dividends in increasing
your weight loss in a very natural manner.
People can fail to realize that exercise can be fun too! You might not want to
schedule time to exercise if you think its drudgery, but you might find it very
enjoyable as a social activity. Look into dance classes to increase movement
and have a fun social skill too. If you have kids or dogs, schedule time to
play with them in the backyard and get your exercise in too. Learn a new
sport, like skiing, golf or skating. Get out your bicycle during the warm
months and take a tour of the neighborhood.
If you are stuck at home, think about implementing exercise through regular
household chores. Put on some music and start dancing while youre
cleaning. Find out how to garden, as this can be effective exercise too. Or,
start raking leaves. If you need to earn money, you can also motivate
yourself by hiring yourself out to mow lawns and rake leaves.
DECREASING STRESS TRIGGERS

As you start the weight loss program, you may notice that you cant reach for
the same stress relievers you normally relied on. You may have been using
food as a source of comfort. Or, maybe you are used to unwinding by having
an alcoholic beverage, which is now restricted from your diet. Many people
use sweets and desserts to comfort themselves in times of hard stress. The
same stress triggers you had before may still be there but the effect they
have on your diet can be minimized.
The first thing you will need to do is be aware of your stress triggers. They
are different for everyone. If you dont know what triggers you, you wont be
able to replace a bad habit with a good one, because you will be on
automatic pilot before you know it. So, evaluating your stress triggers before
you start the diet can be a good way to plan ahead for those inevitable times
when you will feel stressed. As you think over situations that have stressed
you in the past, seek to reduce these types of situations in your life or affirm
to start positive techniques of addressing your stress, instead of heading
toward the pantry.
You may want to think of new strategies that are healthier to help you cope
with the initial stage where deprivation may be a source of frustration. Think
about other ways that you have used that work well to reduce stress: taking
a hot bath, meditating, getting a massage, or even making love. All these
methods of addressing stress levels can replace eating or drinking
inappropriate things when you are stressed out. If you arent sure what kind
of activities might help, take a look at what types of things you enjoy and
use them. Music that calms the nerves can be useful.
The psychological aspects of dieting can include feelings of deprivation,
frustration as well as mood alterations. You can get help to keep you
motivated by dieting with a buddy or using a group plan like Weight

Watchers for support when the going gets tough. Remember to be gentle
with yourself and not beat yourself up for missing your target for a day. Take
each day as a new opportunity to do the best job you can on your diet and
forget about the past.
Dont forget about positive stress triggers. Not all stress triggers are
negative. If youve found youve lost more weight than your target goal for a
week, dont use that as a positive stress trigger to eat. If you get a
promotion at your job, schedule something other than a congratulatory
restaurant outing to celebrate. Keep in mind that you will want an excuse to
get off your diet, at those times, you need to find other ways to either
reward yourself or keep from falling off the diet.
Other forms of toning exercise can also help to relieve stress triggers. Yoga
and Tai Chi can help to calm the mind of its neurotic cravings while toning
the body. It increases flexibility and can help to stimulate the metabolism.
This type of exercise has the added benefit of helping one to gradual increase
the level of complexity, keeping the practice interesting while continuing to
challenge us to increased fitness.
GOOD SHOPPING HABITS

The old adage never go shopping on an empty stomach is even truer when
you are dieting. Schedule your shopping trips to be exercise sessions, not
meals. Most supermarkets are laid out in the same type of format where the
essentials are found on the perimeter of the store and specialty foods and
products are placed in the center aisles. One can go into a store and avoid
the center aisles, for the most part, and still get all your shopping done. You
will most likely avoid the processed foods, the snacks, and other sorts of
prepackage high-calories foods.
If your diet is a health diet, you might end up shopping at an organic market
or farmers market more than a regular grocery store. These places offer
high quality vegetables and fruits. Organic markets carry produce that has no
pesticides or harmful additives. If you are juicing with a home juicer, organic
fruits will allow you to use the fruits and vegetables with the skin to get the
most nutrients and none of the harmful chemicals in your diet.
You should have an idea, which markets carry the foods you need at a price
you can afford. You should go through your menu planner and figure out
what you need to buy and add that to your grocery list. Obviously, if you are
using a diet that sells prepackaged foods that can be microwaved, then you
wont have to really think too hard about what ingredients you are buying.
However, the cost of following that type of diet plan is much higher than
preparing your own meals.
If you are on a low-carbohydrate diet, you will need to get into the habit of
reading the labels on your foods. Many foods appear to be low-carbohydrate
but can be deceptive in that additives to them make them unsuitable for a
low-carbohydrate diet. Popcorn, for instance, appears to be a low-calorie
food until you look at the microwave popcorn labels and read the calories of
some brands. They can be very high in calories.
If you are on the Atkins diet, you may need to go to a specialty food store
that carries Atkins brands to be able to follow the diet. If you are on a
gluten-free diet, even reading the labels may not be enough. You may have
to find out if the gluten-free products were manufactured in a factory that
also produces gluten-rich products. For that, you will have to do a little more
legwork by calling the companies directly.
If you are keen on doing your own recipes, make sure to figure out
substitutes for calorie rich ingredients. If you are used to using canned or
frozen foods like vegetables or fruits, dont assume they are low in calories
because they are fruits or vegetables. Check the labels. Substitute lowcalorie products and brands for high calorie ones. Many canned foods can
contain additional sugars that you arent aware of until you read the label.
Depending on the diet you are on, you may end up getting lean cuts or meat
or more fatty ones. Dairy products are also something that is restricted by
different diets in different ways. Oils may be restricted for health diets based
on the idea that some are high in monounsaturated fats and healthier for
you. But, that again, will depend on the diet.
Fresh fruits and vegetables are a safe bet. Processed foods are usually not
recommended unless they are approved by the diet in prepackaged meal
plans that carefully regulate portions and ingredients. All this calorie counting
and ingredient shopping can seem hard, but it will get easier the more you
get familiar with the food that can safely be included in your diet plans.
Schedule more time at the start of your diet to get yourself acquainted with
the products and brands that can meet your diets requirements.
Grocery shopping can be as simple or as complex as you want to make it. If
your diet is planned well enough in advance, going to the grocery store or
farmers market can be an opportunity for exercise and not frustration. You
may find that the diets with the prepackaged meals make more sense for you
if you were never interested in cooking to begin with. If your lifestyle has
been one of going to restaurants for most meals, simply choosing a diet with
prepackaged meal plans can help you to lose weight.
If you are an avid cook, you try some of the more exotic fruits and
vegetables to add variety to your diet. As long as they arent prohibited from
the diet due to high sugar content or carbohydrates, then you can start to
choose some foods to add to help you keep an interest in what you are
eating. Some diets offer a choice of different meal plans and you can mix and
match them to suit your mood and help you stay motivated. This can make it
harder to go grocery shopping, but it can also make the diet a fun, new
experience in food shopping.
4
KEEPING TRACK OF YOUR
GOALS
There are a number of different philosophies about how to keep track of your
goals. Some diets would not have you check your weight frequently, others
do. Some might have you check your body fat measurements. Others are
more concerned with how many calories and your eating habits and
journaling can then be a good tool. Or, if you want to get really scientific
about it you can start tracking your progress in a spreadsheet.
If your diet doesnt include techniques for keeping track of your weight loss,
you may want to use some of the following suggestions to help you track
your progress.
WEIGHING IN
There are a number of things to consider about the weigh in. The accuracy of
the scale is important. The number of times you weigh yourself can be daily,
weekly, or even monthly. If you are on a short-term diet and expect to lose a
lot of weight, you will need to check your progress more frequently. The time
of day that you weigh yourself is also important, as is the time of month for
women. There is evidence that weighing yourself once a day is more
motivating and contributes to weight loss more than weekly or monthly
readings. However, some diets are very specific about how often one can
weigh themselves and you should follow the diet that youve chosen closely.
Try to weigh yourself with minimal clothing in the morning before you eat
breakfast. This will give you a good idea of how you are doing before you
have the chance to add weight through meals. If you are a woman and you
notice weight gain close to your menstrual period, it is probably due to water
gain. Dont let it discourage you from your diet. Remember that weight gain
isnt necessarily bad if you are also exercising. It can also indicate muscle
gain.
Above all try to keep scale measurements in perspective. Everyones weight
can fluctuate one to two pounds per day, whether theyre on a diet or not.
Do weigh yourself and keep records, but realize that body mass is not the
same thing as body fat. The scale does not take into account your body type,
how dense your bones are, and whether you have more muscle than fat. So,
be kind to yourself and use the scale as just one indicator of progress, not to
berate yourself.
MUSCLE GAIN AND BODY FAT MEASUREMENTS

The initial measurement of your body mass index (BMI) should have been
given to you by your physician. After that you can also calculate your own
BMI using a formula or a BMI calculator online. Make sure that you take into
account your gender and age when doing your own BMI calculations. The
body mass index doesnt really tell you the percentage of body fat, but it will
tell you whether you are approaching a normal weight for people within your
age and gender grouping. The BMI formula can be done in a variety of units.
The calculation of BMI for U.S. units of measurement is:
BMI=703 X (WEIGHT in pounds/HEIGHT2 in inches2)
The calculation of BMI for U.K. units of measurement is:
BMI=6.35 X (WEIGHT in stones/HEIGHT2 in meters2)
The calculation of BMI for the metric system is:
BMI= (WEIGHT in kilograms/HEIGHT2 in meters2)
The BMI guidelines for adults are:
A value of 30.0 or above is obese. A value of 25.0 to 29.9 is overweight. A
value of 18.5 to 24.9 is normal, and a value below 18.5 is underweight.
These readings can change depending on age so its best to find a BMI
calculator online that will take the age and gender into account too when
determining the BMI. This will only tell you how close you are to a normal
weight for your gender or age grouping, it will not give you any idea of body
fat percentages.
For that you will actually have to either get a caliper test done to determine
how much body fat you have. This can be done at your physicians office, a
gym, or even a university. You can also learn to use the caliper yourself to
determine if you are gaining muscle while losing fat. This may make you
heavier, but it will also be an indication that you are becoming healthier too.
You can buy a caliper online, but you will most likely need to learn how to
use it properly so that your measurements are accurate and consistent. If
you dont trust yourself to take good measurements, have someone at a gym
do it for you to help you gauge your progress. At the very least, see if you
can get someone to show you the proper way to use a caliper to test for body
fat.
Another effective home method of measuring body fat is scales specifically
designed to do it using bioelectric impedance. The only thing to remember, if
you want to use this method, is that these devices are sensitive to the water
gain in your body and skin temperature. To take a good reading, dont eat or
drink for about four hours before taking this test. Also, you will want to wait
twelve hours after youve exercised to use a body fat scale that uses
bioelectric impedance principles. You will want to learn how to convert the
reading to something meaningful but it is a great fitness tool, especially
using it at home.
There are other types of special testing for body fat. Whether you want to
have one done before and after the diet is a personal choice. They can be
expensive and uncomfortable, but it may be in line with the goals youve
chosen for the diet. One of these is hydrostatic weighing, which is essentially
being weight underwater. You are dunked several times to try to determine
the body fat, which is reflective of how much you float in the tank.
Universities and some fitness places offer this type of testing, but it can be
very uncomfortable and prices range from $25 to $50.
There are whole body scanners that use dual energy x-ray to read bone mass
and versus soft tissue mass. It is painless even though it can take up to 30
minutes to complete. The cost is very high, upwards of $100, but the
accuracy is very good. If you are losing weight and gaining muscle for
personal reasons, this may be a bit extreme.
If your diet is to increase heart health, body fat measurements can be
crucial. A higher percentage of fat in the body doesnt just contribute to
obesity, but it can affect health factors too. It increases the risk of diabetes,
heart disease, high blood pressure, osteoarthritis and gallstones. Even the
risk of some cancers has been shown to be related to body fat percentages.
One of the advantages of tracking more than just weight, is that if you gain
weight, you may still find a reduction in overall body fat. This can help
maintain your determination to stay on the diet or continue exercising even
though the scale may say you are heavier. If the heaviness is muscle than
you will be able to notice a difference in the overall body shape, regardless of
how much you weigh, which is visually pleasing. You might also notice that
the clothing you are wearing is starting to hang looser on your body and the
pants are less tight. These are all indications that a diet is working even
when the weight scale may suggest otherwise.
Have a number of different factors to track to see if your diet is working.
Obviously, if your diet is heart-healthy, you will need to track cholesterol
levels. If your diet is to reduce blood sugar levels, you will need to track
those. Not every diet is based on weight, even when weight is affected.
Weight is just one characteristic that can be used to determine if the dieter is
successful. If you are following a diet, it may be wise to keep the numbers to
yourself so that you dont fall into the trap of thinking weight loss one day is
equals long-term success, particularly if the goal is health or fitness.
DIET JOURNALING
You can track your diet in a spiral-bound notebook or you can go high-tech
and get software programs to help you track your progress. The advantage
to software programs is that they can often give you an idea of your nutrition
goals, which are much harder to calculate by hand. Counting calories can
also be much easier, but it may not be necessary if you are using a program
like Weight Watchers that uses prepackaged foods with the calorie count
system on the labels.
Hopefully, whatever you choose, you will journal not just about the foods you
are eating, but also about exercise or activity levels, body fat, and weight
loss. The advantage to doing the notebook approach is that you can take it
with you and write down what you ate when you are doing it, rather than
waiting until the end of the day. Otherwise, you may have to write it down
and then type it back into a software program to get more information out of
your day.
WRITING DOWN FOODS

If youve started the week out with menus, odds are you wont have to write
down the foods you ate unless it deviated from the menu. You will know
ahead of time whether you stuck to the format or not. If later, you want
nutritional assessment from a software program, you have to input that data
accordingly. The only time you might need to journal for the foods, if you are
following a strict diet plan is when you cheat. At that point, its important to
note the behavior, not just to know how many calories you added to your
diet for the day but also to get a feel for the patterns of behavior that you
exhibit in times of stress. It can help you become more aware and keep you
more on target later.
Be sure to have an idea of how many calories you are consuming daily and
whether it meets the plan or not. If you are on a system that isnt caloriebased just note the types of food you ate or any other relevant information
that the diet tracks. Whatever the goal of the diet is that is what you need to
track. If you are on a low-sugar diet, you need to track high sugar foods in
your diet.
One of the other very important items to include when you are writing down
your foods, is how you felt about that meal or cheating instance. Was it
good? Was it filling? Would you continue to eat it? If you are buying diet
packages, try to determine what works better for you and adjust the diet
accordingly. This will help you stay on track with the diet even when it calls
for a meal you dont like. Substitute with something of equal value that you
do like, if it happens to meet the diets requirements.
GIVE YOURSELF KUDOS FOR FITNESS

A diet journal shouldnt just be a morose document of all your misdemeanors
and sins. It should also contain information on what you did for fitness, even
if it was just parking your car at the back of a lot and walking five minutes to
the front of the store. In some instances, like the Weight Watchers diet, the
fitness can even take away some of the extra calories you ingested that
werent a part of that days allotment. This will help to promote balance in
your diet and help to ease your conscience too.
If you are doing strength training to build muscles or endurance, you can put
in the number of repetitions and weight used during your sessions. This is
very important so that you can start building up the resistance, as you get
stronger. Otherwise, you wont remember and you wont challenge yourself
to increase the fitness, which is important as your metabolism adjusts to the
changes in your diet and fitness program.
You can include entertainment as part of your fitness goals like skiing,
dancing, or golf. These may be harder to track in terms of calorie busting,
but they show that you are keeping to a level of activity that should increase
your fitness. You may even find that you are doing more of one activity than
another and that might clue you into other ways to modify your lifestyle to
make it enjoyable and active.
In the fitness portion of the journal, be sure to track the body fat
percentages too. This number is a better indication than weight gain as to
how effective a fitness program or activity is for you. If you take frequent
body fat readings and correlate it to specific fitness routines, you may find
that one activity works much better for you than others. It may even be
surprising if you find that yoga is more effective for your body type than
running.
There are a number of online fitness journals you can find that can help you
figure out how to best track your fitness goals. Part of tracking your fitness
activities is also to be able to tell when the best times are for you to add
activities and what sort of obstacles come up to stop you from exercising.
Being more aware of how to best schedule your day to include fitness and
how to avoid obstacles can help you stop procrastinating and start getting
healthier.
You will want some sort of format that can help you spot trends and patterns
in your own behavior and help you to modify them when they interfere with
the plan. If you notice that youve scheduled a 6 pm gym session that never
gets done, then its time to change the time or pick a different activity. Doing
some activity is better than doing none and whether an excuse is valid or
not, where there is a will, there is a way.
TRACKING THE VITAL STATISTICS

As mentioned earlier, when you are on a low-sugar diet, you will need to
track blood sugar levels. If you are on a diet to increase nutrition, you have
to know how to track that. If you are on a diet to lose weight, you will want
to include weight statistics. How often you take those measurements
depends on how long the diet is and how important it is to track your
progress.
At the very least, any diet, which includes fitness, should track:
Your weight
Your body fat percentage
Other parameters, like health, cholesterol, and blood sugar level can also be
tracked too. If you want to track trends and compare blood sugar levels to
activity level or calories, you will need something more sophisticated than a
spiral notebook.
DIET SPREADSHEETS AND PROGRAMS

To get a visual feel for your daily progress, you might want to either plug the
numbers into a spreadsheet or a software program. There are Excel
templates available for Microsoft Office that can track calories from protein,
carbohydrates and fats. There are programs for almost every diet out there
from the Atkins to the South Beach diet. They all track different elements of
the diet from nutrition to calories. If you are doing a diet for something that
is difficult to assess, like glycemic values, then you might want to get a diet
program that can tell you these values and track them for you.
Most of these programs can produce visually interpretive graphs and
estimate the number of pounds that might be lost based on calorie counting.
Some programs compare the diet to the FDAs food pyramid to see if the
nutrition levels are good. They can be used to create menus in advance and
also to forecast weight loss based on menu selections. These programs can
be highly motivating when you start but they also have to be adjusted as you
actually go through the diet.
One of the nice things about getting a program is many come with the food
values already in a database. You dont have to keep looking up labels or
trying to determine the values yourself. The computer program does it for
you. This can save a lot of time when you are doing a program that may
allow a large number of foods and menus. Some people prefer to plan their
own menus but then find that tracking the actual values of calories, fat, or
protein to be very challenging. In that case, software programs can aide in
having the best of both worlds: your own cooking and the right diet values.
5
ADDITIONAL STRATEGIES TO
LOSE WEIGHT
When you first start a diet your motivation is high and it is the easiest time
to lose weight. Later, you may reach times when your weight begins to
plateau and it gets harder to lose the weight as quickly because your
metabolism has adjusted to the diet. Thats when you have to keep on track
and find additional strategies to lose weight, which may have more to do with
the psychological battle than the physical one.
Strategies that have been shown to be helpful are picking diet or exercise
partners, getting involved in a weight loss group, rewarding yourself for good
behavior, and visualizing positive results.
The support you get from a group can be very beneficial. In addition to
having someone who understands what you are going through, you may find
additional strategies to help you stick to your diet or exercise plan. If you
choose to walk with someone at lunchtime, then it becomes harder to back
out because someone else is counting on you. If your family is involved in
the diet, they can also be a great source of support.
When your motivation is high and the diet is working, thats when you need
to pick the rewards you can use that dont include eating or blowing your
diet. If you wait until after you are having difficulty, you mind may not be as
sharp and your emotions may justify getting off the diet by later doing
something to make up for it. Its better to stick with the plan all the way,
even if that includes getting a diet that includes free days if you have a
problem with will power. Having something to look forward to can keep your
mind from stagnating towards any negative feelings you are having about
the diet.
Visualizing positive results brings in the power of the subconscious mind to
help you realize your goals. It can also affect the way you see yourself and
give you more motivation to continue on the diet. If you are not good a
visualizing results, you can also use props like dresses a size smaller than
you are to help you tune into what a new you could look like. The
subconscious mind has a way of pushing the conscious mind to fulfill the
desires we concentrate on.
There are many additional strategies to lose weight, including hypnosis and
medical treatments such as gastric bypass. These are not for everyone and
some are meant only in extreme cases when weight gain is threatening the
life of someone due to medical concerns. You can investigate these different
alternatives online and decide for yourself if they are right for you.
DONT GO IT ALONE
Clearly, one of the best strategies to stay on a diet and fitness program is to
have social support. Whether that company takes the form of a weight loss
group, a caring family, a fitness and diet partner, or even an online virtual
partner, it doesnt matter. What is important is that you have someone to
talk to when the going gets tough and someone to motivate you when you
dont feel like sticking with the program.
WEIGHT LOSS GROUPS
Weight Watchers is the best-known program for offering group support and
goal tracking. There are Weight Watcher groups all over the United States.
They can offer helpful suggestions to inspire people to keep working towards
their goal. They provide positive feedback when you attain a goal, however
they can also be a bit depressing if you arent keeping to the diet. There is a
private weigh in between the official weigher and you. There is usually a
screen to block the weighing process, but many people still find the
procedure embarrassing and invasive. Others find it highly motivating.
For those people who dont like the public group, Weight Watchers also offers
online forums. These hold to the same principles and the face-to-face
discussion groups and can be easier for sensitive people to handle
emotionally. While any kind of participation in diet program which offers
group counseling will be more expensive than one done on your own, the
benefits of having people to bounce off your successes and failures can make
all the difference in the diet.
FAMILY SUPPORT
If your diet is necessary to keep you healthy, your family can be the best
support system. If they are aware that helping you keep to a diet will keep
you around and healthy for many more years to come, they can be your best
allies. However, if dont let this become a test of wills. Instead, include them
in meal planning and grocery shopping and get them to understand what
your needs are and how the diet can help all of them.
Many families go on heart healthy diets when one of the members has a
heart attack. It doesnt mean that they cant go out at times and eat with
their friends in other ways, but at home they can continue to support your
diet guidelines by changing their lifestyles too. Many heart-healthy diets also
are great for losing weight and if that is an issue with the entire family, then
you can all band together and make it a contest of sorts. If they are old
enough and want to be more involved, each person can have a day when
they cook a recipe of their choosing. Let them be creative and get them to
understand how the diet helps them as well as you.
When one person starts to lose weight or lower their cholesterol, the whole
family can be motivated to stick with the program. Family time can be spent
doing fun outdoor activities during summer or learning a new fitness sport for
the entire family. This can build bonding time and even improve the family
dynamics.
FITNESS OR DIET PARTNER
If youve failed to recruit your family, the next best thing is to get a single
fitness or diet partner. It can be a neighbor, a co-worker, your spouse, or
even a fitness instructor at the local gym. Just having someone who
understands the program and can be there for you when things gets tough
can be a real boon.
If you pick a neighbor, they can be instrumental in getting you to exercise
around your house or on the weekends. You can help each other with
housework and make it an exercise session. You have someone to go to
other activities with like a sporting event, a social dance, or even a gym. You
can trade recipes and help each other to remain enthused about the diet by
keeping up with each others progress.
A co-worker is a great diet or fitness partner. If you start losing weight and
others notice in the office, it soon can become a trend and motivate others to
try the same diet. This can be one way to avoid being invited to restaurants
at lunchtime, which are sure to blow your diet. If you have a steady coworker who knows that fast food is out of the question, you can each eat
together or schedule healthier outings where the menus fit the diet. In
addition to this, co-workers make great fitness partners, particularly if your
job offers fitness perks.
You can join a gym together and meet before or after work. Its much harder
to skip the gym, if someone else is going too. If your work doesnt offer
fitness perks like gym memberships at a discount, you can still schedule time
during lunch for a brisk walk. If you have a walking partner, it helps to keep
you fit while increasing your connections at work. Considering that most
people spend the majority of their time at work or socializing with people
from their work, having a diet partner who is also a co-worker can be a winwin situation.
If the kids couldnt keep up with the diet or arent able to go on it and
maintain proper nutrition for their age, then you might want to just recruit
your spouse. Having someone within the family who will support your goals
and is also undergoing the same diet can be very important to keep things in
perspective. If your spouse isnt willing to diet or do fitness with you, then
they shouldnt be allowed to criticize either. If they truly care about your
health, they will undertake the necessary actions to support you and feel
what you are going through.
If you opt to include social activities like dancing, it can even be a way to put
a little spark back into your relationship. You can still include the family in
biking runs and nature trail walks. Even the pets can become excuses to add
exercise into your day. Instead of focusing on exercise as a chore, look at it
as a way to spend quality time with your family and store some memories for
the future. This positive outlook can help you to stay on a diet and fitness
program, while including those you love in your plans too.
PROFESSIONAL COACH
If you cant stand groups, your family isnt very supportive, or you just want
someone who is available and is knowledgeable, hiring a professional coach
can be the key to success. You will want a fitness coach, a diet coach, or a
life coach (if you are having psychological or behavior obstacles). They will
be trained in ways to motivate you to continue towards your goals regardless
of your own hesitation.
Dont expect any of these coaches to be your friends. They can be, but often
being a coach can mean bringing up patterns in your behavior, which are
stunting your success. It may mean they will be harder on you than you
might be on yourself. It will also mean they will be creative about getting you
around the mental blocks that keep you from obtaining your goals. Be
prepared not only to pay them well, but to have to take a good hard look at
yourself. This can be immensely helpful, with the proper attitude, when you
arent even seeing what the issues are that might be sabotaging your
success. But, they wont do the work for you. They will only point the way
and try to get you to stay on track. If you are not the type of person who can
take guidance or advice, then you might not want to consider a coach.
You can get private fitness coaches are your local gym. They will show you
how to do strength training properly and how to use all the gym equipment.
Their first consultation may actually come with the price of membership. If
you want more individual instruction after that, you will have to pay for it.
Diet and life coaches will also charge you for their time at a very good rate.
Its important to understand that you will be getting individualized attention
and many of these people can make far more teaching classes where there
are multiple people involved. If you want undivided attention, it costs more.
You should pick a coach that can complement your weaknesses or
understands you on a psychological level. If you find that you are able to get
around a coachs instruction and you arent showing much progress, it might
be time to challenge yourself with someone who is more disciplined and can
push you to succeed.
VIRTUAL SUPPORT
When dealing with weight loss issues, face-to-face interaction with your
support system is recommended. There are virtual groups and coaches that
you can choose, but if you are the type of person who will lie about your
progress, it may be hard for a virtual coach to tell the difference. However,
someone that knows you personally can gauge your diet and fitness progress
simply by looking at you.
That doesnt mean all virtual groups and coaches should be avoided. If your
problems stem from a lack of self-esteem, poor body image, or constant
habits that sabotage your success, then a virtual coach can be just as good a
in person coach. If your problems are actually showing up to a gym session,
then a personal trainer who is waiting for you at the gym can be immensely
helpful. It depends on what issues you are having as to which type of support
can work best for you.
PICK YOUR REWARDS

When you meet a goal, dont forget to provide yourself with positive
reinforcement. Diets like Weight Watchers show you how you can exercise
more and thus exchange the calories you burn with something more
fattening. The idea there is that you can balance your rewards without
depriving yourself of food. This may help you to maintain your diet if you are
addicted to certain types of foods, but the best way and the fastest way to
lose weight is to burn the calories and not replace them. In order for that to
happen, you have to pick activities ahead of time that feel rewarding and
provide positive reinforcement that dont involve food.
The size of the reward should equal the size of the accomplishment. Dont
buy a new wardrobe just because you managed to add five minutes to your
exercise schedule. Dont ignore the accomplishment, but dont overindulge it
either. Its important to recognize all your successes, as well as your
obstacles, so that you can celebrate the pluses and not focus as much on the
minuses. This strategy can motivate people more than beating themselves
up for infractions in the diet and fitness plan. Keep it positive, but keep it
realistic too.
Remember to be tracking your accomplishments as well as your failures in
your journal. If you see an accomplishment with a failure on the same day,
ignore the reward. The accomplishment is the reward. However, if youve
managed to not only meet but also exceed your plan for the day, you
deserve a reward, no matter how small! This will help to build the size of
your accomplishments while decreasing the size of your failures.
You can decide whether you want daily rewards, weekly rewards, or rewards
based on actual weight loss goals. For instance, the small rewards can be
done daily, the large ones can be done weekly, if youve had a stellar week,
and if youve reached a specific goal of losing 10 pounds you can have one
planned just for that occasion. How and when you reward yourself depends
on how much motivation you need and whether youd rather shoot for small
rewards or aim for large ones. Theres no right or wrong way to do it.
Create a list of rewards that you can carry with you so that you dont create
food rewards as backups. They should be categorized into small rewards and
large rewards. Let your imagination and desire guide you. You can even get
creative and include rewards that your family can give you for meeting your
goals, like a back massage for walking two miles instead of one. Having a
group of people who are each competing for a specific reward, can add
oomph to your diet and fitness plans.
LIST OF SMALL REWARDS
If youve gone just a little bit further than you scheduled for the day,
remember to take out your list of small rewards and pick one. You earned it.
The list can include things like:
Taking a hot bubble bath

Buying flowers for yourself
Putting out candles or aromatherapy
Listening to a favorite song
Buying yourself a good book
Getting your nails done
Spend time doing a hobby
Buy a new sports item
Buying a piece of jewelry
Putting on perfume
Cozying up to a fire
Spending time outdoors doing nothing
Visiting a favorite park spot
Going to a free museum
Visiting an art gallery
Going window-shopping
A trip to the library
LIST OF LARGE REWARDS

Large rewards can be for a series of cumulative small victories or for an
above-average effort for the day. It should consist of items that you have
planned to motivate you to continue doing well on your diet and should not
involve food at all. Some of the possible larger rewards can be more moneybased than the smaller rewards. The bigger the effort, the bigger the reward
can cost. Some good examples of large rewards can include:
Tickets to a movie
Tickets to an arts performance
Tickets to concerts
A spa outing
Hiring cleaning help
Getting your nails done
Buying makeup
Getting your hair done
Buying clothing
Buying new shoes
Getting a facial
Take a seminar
Getting a new purse or wallet
Scheduling a weekend trip
GROUP REWARDS
Whether you are highly competitive or not, a group reward that has been
established beforehand can be an effective motivator for weight loss. You can
set up a weight loss lottery at work where everyone pitches in money and
the one who loses the most weight gets the pot of money at the end of a
certain amount of time. You can have your spouse give you coupons for
massages, housework, or special events when you meet a weight loss goal
that you can cash in when you want. Or you can put your money on the line
by offering to pay for a specific outing at the end of the diet if you show less
of a weight loss than your diet or fitness partner. Having a little competition
in a diet is not a bad thing, just dont let it get in the way of basic friendship
and work relationships.
VISUALIZE IT
The power of the mind has yet to be fully mapped. Visualization can be a
powerful tool to get the subconscious mind in agreement with your physical
weight loss goals. Visualization can take the form of active daydreaming and
self-encouragement by imagining all the positive effects a diet and fitness
plan will do for you.
Some people are better than others are visualizing their desires. We all
prefer different senses than others. Some of us can remember things better
when we hear them. Others rely on their sense of touch to tell them about
their world. Those people that are visual people can do visualizations quite
easily. Those that arent may need a little help by using props and different
memory cues to help the visualization seem real.
If you dont know which type of person you are, the best strategy is to try to
imagine all your senses being used in the visualization and not just how you
will look after youve lost a set amount of weight. You may want to try to
evoke how healthy you might feel or the compliments you expect to hear
from others. The idea is to get your imagination to believe that it is not only
possible, but that its already happening. Its been noted that the mind cant
tell the difference between a real memory and a false one. If you tweak your
mind to accept your weight loss goals as a reality, it can help you to achieve
them with less effort.
SAMPLE VISUALIZATIONS
To visualize your weight loss goals, begin by finding a space where you can
sit uninterrupted for a few minutes. Sit in a comfortable position and hold
your body in a relaxed position. Try to release any tension that you notice in
your body and calm the mind before you start. You can start to notice your
breath in order to calm down. Just watch it go in and out without trying to
control it. When you are feeling calmer and more relaxed, attempt to
visualize a specific scene you may have pre-programmed to use.
You can use a beach scene to help you re-program your mind. You can see
yourself getting ready to go to the beach and putting on a new swimsuit,
which is the size that you want. Read the tag on the swimsuit. Put it on and
feel how it fits you perfectly. Admire yourself in the mirror. Imagine you are
toned and thinner, maybe even radiating a healthy glow. Then, get dressed
to head out to the beach or to a pool. As you take off your over clothes to
get ready to sunbathe or swim, imagine someone telling you how wonderful
you look. Feel the lightness of your body and how healthy it is. Imagine you
go walking on the beach or swimming and feel how the lightness of your
body makes you feel energized and healthy.
This is just one scene you can use to bring in all the senses and program
your mind to accept the fact that you are losing weight now. You can use any
setting for the same purpose. If you have trouble with fitting rooms, you can
re-program that negative memory by imagining that now youve picked a
dress that was a size smaller and yet when you went into the fitting room, it
fit and you looked great in it! You might even imagine someone with you
telling you it was just right for you.
Pick a scene or desire that you want that your current weigh may not allow
you to experience and then experience it in your mind. Maybe you want to
imagine you are dancing and enjoying yourself while others are admiring
your dress or your stamina at dancing. Its really very individual what kind of
visualization you pick. Athletes often use visualizations to help program their
minds to wind and not to lose. You are now going to use it to see yourself
with a positive body image and reprogram all the negative chatter about
dieting and weight loss that you may have had in the past.
USING PROPS FOR VISUALIZATIONS
If you still have difficulty with this exercise, you can use visualizations with
props. That means that you will need to find an outfit that is a smaller size
than your current weight and buy it. You will then use that outfit to help you
with your visualization. Dont put it on. Just keep it on a hanger in front of
you and try to imagine yourself in it. This way, you have a physical object in
front of you that the mind can copy. You can imagine how it feels next to
your skin, how well it is fitting in your visualization, and the number of
compliments you received on it. You can even accessorize it in your
imagination and see how that works out.
If you find yourself at a loss when you attempt the actual visualization, set
up a tape of your own voice describing the scene you want to visualize. Then,
play it back for yourself and use it to guide you through the visualization.
This way your mind can be free from planning while following your own voice
in a visualization of success that can be quite affirming.
FINDING OTHER SOURCES OF COMFORT

Other sources of comfort can come from your own spiritual perspective, from
affirmations, pampering, social interactions, to a change in your daily
routines. Many people find that when food loses its comfort value in their life
that they need to start finding new ways to achieve a sense of well being.
That can mean anything from finding new hobbies to opening up to whole
new lifestyle choices that might have previously been ignored or limited.
SPIRITUAL STRENGTH
You dont have to be religious to take comfort in spirituality. Many of the
practices that other spiritual traditions use can be a source of comfort
without aligning with their belief systems. Meditation is one such practice
that has been brought over from the East to the West, which has been
proven to improve a sense of well being. If youve never thought about
spending a little time doing some meditation, now might be the time to try.
There are a number of different meditations that can be learned and
practiced for a short period of time that can be effective in stabilizing the
mind.
Monks have used the practice of meditation for centuries to reduce the
cravings of the mind. You can easily learn meditation through self-help tapes
and use it to help you calm your own anxieties and worries. It doesnt require
an instructor, but it can be helpful to have one. There are many nondenominational groups that include meditation as a mind practice avoiding its
religious overtones. The Silva Method has used meditation for a long time to
help manage weight loss and reduce stress. You can buy a book on any of
these meditation techniques and use tapes to help you meet a goal of stress
relief. As with all forms of psychological techniques, they should not be
overdone. Any type of intense mental training should be viewed the same as
a rigorous plan that requires a physician. Instead, opt for moderation and
one can use these methods very safely.
AFFIRMATIONS
Affirmations are used by some people to help them calm the fears that they
arent getting what they want, in this case weight loss. However, whether the
mind actually calms down is probably an individual matter. You can create
your own affirmations to help you bypass mental obstacles. They can be
done very quickly even in groups of 10 to 20 repetitions daily. Some
examples of good weight loss affirmations are:
Im losing weight as I speak.

I am feeling lighter today.
I feel good and thinner.
My body is getting stronger and leaner.
I love foods that keep me thin.
Losing weight comes effortlessly to me.
I am experiencing radiant health.
Progress on this diet is quick and effective.
I love the way I feel right now.
You can make up your own affirmation, but it has to be an affirmation of

positive results, whether they are actually appearing in your reality at
present or not. You expect they will happen and the affirmation says they are
happening.
SELF-PAMPERING
Dont expect other people to comfort you while you are dieting. Part of
learning to diet successfully is learning how to self-pamper. External rewards
in the form of compliments and positive social reinforcement are great, but
they are not typically the norm. Instead, focus on making yourself feel
better, get healthier, and lose weight. Think success and strive to make it
happen in small and large actions daily.
When you are feeling down, stay away from situations that might tempt you
to kick the diet. Dont go groceries shopping while youre hungry or feeling
deprived. Dont go out to eat at a restaurant, if youve had a bad week
thinking that you can eat a salad. Your emotions will most likely get the
better of you. Mood management can be important to keep us positively
focused when trying to lose weight. The routines you set up should be used
to pamper yourself into a good mood while avoiding temptation.
Only you know what things soothe your soul and make you feel good. Its
different for everyone. It may be giving yourself permission to not do the
dishes. It may be writing yourself an appreciative note. Some of these things
may seem a little odd, but appreciating yourself can help you to be gentle
with yourself when others may not be so kind.
Use the rewards system to self-pamper and when the problem is emotional,
find something that can address that component of the obstacle. If you are
depressed, you can sometimes focus on all the other people in the world who
are dieting who are much worse off than you. This can help you to feel
pampered by comparing yourself to people who are less well off than you.
Maybe you can be grateful that you have the money to buy the diet plans. Or
maybe you can be grateful that you only need to lose 20 pounds instead of
30. Maybe you can be grateful that your diet is to lose weight and is not a
medical emergency. Learn what things you can say to yourself that will
pamper your sense of well-being. No one else has to know what you are
saying to yourself to make yourself feel better.
If youve had years of yo-yo dieting, you may have scripts running through
your head that are very negative and self-damaging. When you hear one
come through, you can start to replace them with positive ones. You can
accept the fact that you were that person in the past but now you are
different. Then, affirm the difference and keep moving forward. If you face
the path behind you, youll only end up walking backwards, a much harder
proposition than facing the path in front of you.
SOCIAL INTERACTIONS
If your circle of friends has been people who enjoy eating out all the time, its
time to widen that circle. You can learn to create comfort with new lifestyle
choices when you meet new friends who enjoy the same activities. Some
people take up dancing for fun and find it a great way to lose weight. You
meet new people, you have some fun, and at the same time you may not
even notice you are exercising. Much of that sense of comfort with the
activity level has to do with the fact that dancing is a very social interaction.
In todays society, we often lead isolated lives and depend on the nuclear
family to provide our social needs. In the past, the family had extensive
relationships from cousins to grandparents to godmothers and godfathers.
Social interaction is important to keep us happy and healthy. People can
become more depressed and subject to weight gain when their circle of
friends becomes smaller and less fulfilling.
There are ways to counteract that but it will take some effort on your part.
You need to look into groups in your area that you are interested in and then
show up. It can be hard at first, but the reward is a sense of comfort as your
circle of friends gets wider and social opportunities increase. What may have
been initially uncomfortable can be a source of great comfort, if you stick
with it.
Another great area to meet new friends and cultivate social interaction is at
churches or spiritual groups. Keep in mind that many of these groups focus
their activities around food, but there are others that cater to singles or
divorced parents specifically. If you are gaining weight because you are
isolated and bored, think about getting out a little more and finding some
new hobbies or events that include others.
If you are retired and finding your activity level and friendships dwindling,
think about going back to school. Universities now have a variety of elder
programs in continuing education that can get people out of the house and
involved in their communities. Taking a class or a seminar at a local
university is an easy way to widen your social interactions and add some
exercise in your day. You can find time to explore the campus while you are
locating the places where the classes are taking place.
CHANGE YOUR ROUTINE
Comfort can come from routine, but boredom can also. If you find that your
routine has gotten stale, just changing it slightly can give you a needed life.
There are a variety of ways to change your routine besides picking a new
hobby or adding social events. There are a number of little things that can be
done to change your environment that can bring new life and happiness into
your weight loss plan.
A great way to add a little exercise and change your routine is to take on a
room-remodeling project. Maybe youve wanted to change the colors of your
bedroom walls for a while now. Dont just think about it, do it! Buying paint
at a local hardware store is cheap and can provide hours of amusement and
exercise that has nothing to do with food. In addition, you have the
satisfaction of seeing a job well done and new environment to life your
spirits.
To bring that cheery spirit outdoors, think about putting large planters near
your door with lots of bright cheery plants in them. Or you, can do a plant
swap with a neighbor if you have too much of a certain plant in your yard.
Changing or adding new features to your backyard or garden can provide
comfort not just in spring, but you can plan these things in the winter too.
When the actual work takes place and the flowers start to blossom, it can
bring a huge sense of satisfaction and joy to your day. If it works really well,
you might even think about taking some of those flowers into the office to
brighten your job as well.
If youve had the same furniture arrangement for years, you can make a
dramatic impact on your environment by moving it around. It doesnt require
you to pay anything extra. It can add a little strength building to your day,
and it provides a visually appealing comfort that is important for the soul.
When you remodel, dont forget to pamper the senses. Add some candles for
light or ambiance, some potpourri for smell, some soft blankets or afghan
throws for touch, a table fountain can provide a nice sound of running water,
and leave taste for the kitchen.
The use of color is very important in the home. If you look around and notice
that everything is drab or colorless, you might think of adding some splashes
of color with rugs, drapes, sofa covers, pillows, or artwork. Just adding a new
picture to a living room wall can change the entire tone of the room. You
may even find yourself becoming inspired.
When you cook, you can start changing your routine to add more spices.
Spices have very few calories and yet they boost flavor to a maximum.
Experiment with recipes and see how you can use fresh herbs too to bring
freshness and additional nutrients to your diet. If you are unsure how to use
the herbs or dry spices, find some ethnic cookbooks that use those
ingredients and see how they are used in other cultures. Take a cooking class
that deals with your specific diet and enjoy meeting new people, changing
your routine, while strengthening your resolve to stay on the diet.
Having to care for children can be a very difficult issue when it comes to
being more mobile and active. You can change your routines so that you turn
off the television and require them to do some activity with you when they
get home. You can hire a babysitter so that you have more time to yourself
and allows you to de-stress, eliminating one reason many people break their
diets. You can negotiate with your spouse on who picks up the children from
daycare or puts them to bed, alternating days so that neither of you becomes
overwhelmed with parental responsibilities. Small changes in a family
structure should support everyone and make it a vital unit where all
members are healthy and fit.
If you find that you are too overwhelmed with activities, think about cutting
some out. Learning to say no isnt just good when it comes to dessert, but it
can also be helpful for people who demand too much of your time.
Remember to pamper yourself and allow yourself the luxury of saying no at
times. Is it really important that you bring two dozen cupcakes to the PTA
meeting? Say no and come empty-handed or recommend a healthy platter of
vegetables with a dip instead. Dont feel obliged to buy multiple candy bars
from the PTA either, if they will just be tempting you. Instead, donate money
and forget about taking the product. Ask that next year the PTA consider a
different type of fundraiser that doesnt involve food.
THE LIFE MAINTENANCE PLAN

A diet isnt forever, but a healthy lifestyle is a life choice. Most diets come
with a life maintenance plan that is less restrictive than the original diet. You
can use their recommendations and try to maintain that lifestyle, or widen it
with your own choices. If youve made significant changes in your lifestyle to
support more activity and less food intake, it might be you dont have to be
as strict about following a particular diet plan. You may have developed a life
plan just by watching your preferences, your stress triggers, your food
choices, and your waistline.
Life maintenance plans are usually dedicated to keeping the weight off and
maintaining good food and fitness habits. This means that instead of going
back to your old habits, you will only want to reintroduce higher calorie foods
or other food categories as long as they dont cause you to gain weight.
The key to the life maintenance plan is to understand that your food and
fitness habits were what caused you to become overweight in the first place.
If you go back to those same habits, just because the diet is over, you will
gain weight again. This leads to a situation of yo-yo dieting which is very
unpleasant. One has to come to the realization that in order to maintain a
particular weight and fitness level, one has to keep to a lifestyle forever.
Sedentary habits and binge eating make people gain weight. If you know
have taken the time to cultivate good habits and stress coping techniques,
hopefully, you wont find yourself in the same situation again. But, only time
tells that.
One way to try to motivate you to stay on some less restrictive maintenance
plan is to just get rid of all your old clothing. You should have lost some
weight on the diet and your clothing will undoubtedly not fit as well. If thats
the case, take the opportunity to get a new wardrobe and donate your old
wardrobe to a charity. This way, as you continue on the life maintenance
plan, the clothes themselves will clue you into how well you are doing. If
your clothing becomes tight, you will have the unpleasant option of going out
to buy more clothing for a bigger you or to readjust your eating and exercise
habits again.
Losing weight is usually a short-term proposition. Keeping it off is a lifetime
commitment. As years go by and you find yourself keeping to a good weight,
you can congratulate yourself that you are avoiding some of the major
stressors for physical diseases like high blood pressure, cardiovascular
disease, diabetes and more. As you get older, weight issues contribute more
and more to the appearance of these diseases and you can be happy
knowing that a life maintenance plan has kept you living healthier for longer.
The biggest reward for your diligence and hard work is being able to see your
children get married, have kids of their own, and realizing that your diet and
lifestyle had a lot to do with that. Be happy and enjoy your life. You deserve
it!

Dieting Wisdom

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Everything You

DIETS THAT RESTRICT QUANTITY OR TYPES OF FOODS.........6

DIETS THAT MAKE A STATEMENT............................................7

RISKY DIET FADS..................................................................12

PICKING A DIET TO COMPLEMENT YOUR LIFESTYLE.............19

CLEANING OUT AND RE-STOCKING THE PANTRY..................21

PICK YOUR REWARDS...........................................................40

FINDING OTHER SOURCES OF COMFORT..............................44

THE LIFE MAINTENANCE PLAN..............................................49

DIETS FOR DIFFERENT BODY TYPES

DIETS THAT RESTRICT QUANTITY OR TYPES OF

DIETS THAT MAKE A STATEMENT

DIETS THAT INCREASE FITNESS

DIETS THAT WORK WITH PILLS OR

CUSTOMIZED PROGRAMS OR PLANS

MANY OTHER DIET PLANS

RISKY DIET FADS

YOUR INITIAL PHYSICAL EXAM AND DOCTORS

EVALUATING YOUR GOALS

PICKING A DIET TO COMPLEMENT YOUR

MANAGING THE DIET BUDGET

Weight Watchers was estimated at $96.64. Jenny Craigs weight loss

CLEANING OUT AND RE-STOCKING THE

Planning Your Day Ahead

PLANNING YOUR DAY AHEAD

EATING REGULARLY IN SMALL PORTIONS

DRINKING LOW-CALORIE DRINKS

DECREASING STRESS TRIGGERS

motivated by dieting with a buddy or using a group plan like Weight

GOOD SHOPPING HABITS

MUSCLE GAIN AND BODY FAT MEASUREMENTS

WRITING DOWN FOODS

GIVE YOURSELF KUDOS FOR FITNESS

TRACKING THE VITAL STATISTICS

DIET SPREADSHEETS AND PROGRAMS

PICK YOUR REWARDS

Taking a hot bubble bath

LIST OF LARGE REWARDS

FINDING OTHER SOURCES OF COMFORT

Im losing weight as I speak.

You can make up your own affirmation, but it has to be an affirmation of

THE LIFE MAINTENANCE PLAN

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