Each day, it seems, we hear stories about people who have joined the weight loss program, lost weight and looked good! Before and after the pictures, they provide compelling evidence that yes, these systems work. But how do you decide which weight loss program is best for you, and how to make it work? First, you need to remember that the purpose of a weight loss program is to lose weight and KEEP IT.
Yo-yo dieting puts pressure on your body, which can make losing weight difficult and getting you back easily. It is important to choose a diet plan that will help you make changes in your diet that will last a lifetime. If you are a yo-yo dieter, you probably have a history of switching between extremely restricted diets and going back to a ‘normal’ diet once you have lost weight that you need to lose.
You have shown that you have the strength now that you need to re-learn. Instead of choosing a strict diet plan to stop when the diet ends, commit to following the healthy diet guidelines from the USDA, and add half an hour of exercise to your daily routine five times a week. You will develop healthy habits that will help you lose weight - and help you avoid overuse.
Second, decide how much help you need. What motivates you? Are you naturally secretive, or do you excel with a lot of public support? Are you a strong person who can decide to do something and ‘just do it’, or will you need help to overcome temptation? If you are successful in community promotion, joining a weight loss program like Weight Watchers or TOPS (Lose Weight Loss) may be the best option for you.
You will receive community support, encouraging prizes and weekly entries to help you stay on track and provide goals you do not aim for. Next, do you do well with organized, stricter commands that tell you exactly what to do step by step, or are you happier and more comfortable with a little flexibility? If you do very well if you have strict guidelines to follow, and you like the procedures, then look at the diet that gives you daily menus with accurate measurements and foods you can eat.
While that may sound like a lot of people, the trick is to do what works for you. In fact, once you reach your target weight, you can subscribe to a healthy diet or live magazine with daily menus. If limited food and flexible menus are not yours, then try foods that offer the option of mixing and matching your food within certain limits. Whether you are counting carbs, calories or alternatives, diets such as Atkins, Weight Watchers or the Zone diet give you some flexibility within the prescribed 'allowed diet'.
Finally, how much weight should you lose? When are you trying to lose it? Will immediate results keep you motivated, or is slow and steady progress really what you need? Try Quick-start with Atkins diets to lose weight first - lots of water weight - quickly so you can see results immediately. If your effects from a diet with such limitations are slow, take exercise by adding more exercise and changing your diet slowly - but count your calories and carbohydrates. Set yourself at 1-2 pounds a week, but if you need more boosting, go back to a more restricted pattern to make your metabolism slow down a bit. The trick is to never stay on a low-calorie diet long enough to slow down your metabolism. Just drop and take the activity level long enough to wake yourself up again.
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