Week one of a Diet. Prepaing to diet for 2013

If there is one thing I really hate doing is dieting. I’ve given out a lot of advice on dieting, healthy foods, etc, for one simple reason, to keep ‘ME’ on track. And I’m about to do it again.

 Today is January 1. What do most people do on January 1? They start that all important yearly diet, that they started last year on the same date. Only this time you’re going to make it. It’s your resolution. I never make resolutions, it's one things that is made to be broken. 

If you look at the national average, over 70% of dieters who start a diet on the first, fail.

Why?

Because, they start on the first and overnight. There is no preparation for a diet.

What I’ve discovered is that you have to prepare yourself to diet for February in January. You’re saying, February, that’s a month away! What happened to January? 

What I found for myself, to give up absolutely everything at once, plus adding exercise, can be very stressful. There is a lot going on. The fear of failure is very stressful, especially if you think everyone is watching you. Most likely they’re not watching, because they’re too involved in their own mental meltdown over a failed diet. They only pay attention when you’ve noticeably lost weight, then they want your secret.

The secret to dieting successfully is easy. Take it one week at a time.

This is how:

• Week 1: Give up one bad thing for you. For me it’s wine. I love wine. Red wine is good for you, but the sugars in wine aren’t. It’s my biggest guilty pleasure. I LOVE WINE!This is the hardest for me and probably puts the most weight on me.
• Week 2: Give up something fatty and unhealthy, like red meat and/or pork. I love my pork chops! But they’ve got to go.
• Week 3:Bring down your carb intake. Look at it this way, anything white is bad for you. Go to more complex carbohydrates like whole grains.
• Week 4: Dairy products. Go to almond milks, and give up cheese. There is low fat cheese, but I’m a purist, if it isn’t the real deal, I don’t want it at all.  

Now it’s February and you’ve gotten into dieting mode. During this time, keep a food journal. Write down everything that goes into your mouth. Studies have shown dieter who maintain a journal, lose more weight and keep it off. Read labels. Low fat food, often is low in fat, but high in sugar. Make your own, then you know what's in it.

 

We all fall off the diet wagon at least a few times. The key to success is getting back on it again. Fall, bounce a little, and climb back up and if you have too, start all over again. I know because I've fallen and haven't gotten back up, more times then I can tell you.

I'll be weighing myself tomorrow, then not for another week will I go near the scale. 1pound a week is considered healthy and manageable. If your eliminating unhealthy foods week by week, you should start to lose a little weight, especially if you've added exercise. Exercise for healthy weight loss is 30 minutes a day, 6 days a week. I'm right there with you. Remember you're not a lone.