When it’s time to lose weight, you need to find a diet that works well with your lifestyle. Diets are followed to guide you in making healthier food choices. Several types of diets, however, advocate opposing views as to the healthy path to weight loss. Consider your options carefully before settling on a healthy diet to lose 20 lbs.
Dieting Basics
To lose weight, you need to take in fewer calories than you need. Typically, this involves creating a calorie deficit by limiting food and increasing exercise. Diets put you on the right track. Some diets do this by limiting the number of calories you eat, but allowing you to eat any type of food within that limit. Other diets work by restricting the types of foods that you can eat, which usually ends up reducing overall caloric intake. Consider which type of diet fits into your lifestyle.
Commercial Diet Plans
If you have the money, purchase a diet plan to help you stay on track. Some of these, such as Weight Watchers or eDiets, help you to track food, make meal suggestions and offer support through in-person meetings or online message boards. In this type of diet, you are responsible for preparing your own food, using the suggestions and recipes that the plan offers. Alternatively, you can purchase a diet plan that offers food delivery. This takes the work out of it, which may work well for those with busy schedules.
Free Diet Plans
You don’t have to pay a monthly fee to lose weight. You can learn about different types of diet plans, such as the South Beach Diet, the Atkins Diet, Volumetrics or any other type of plan by taking out a book from your library. There are also free websites that help you to track your calories and physical activity, such as FitDay.com. These programs can keep you accountable to make weight loss possible.
What to Look For
When evaluating diet programs, look for the one that fits best with your personal preferences and lifestyle. If you don’t have much time for cooking, for example, you want a diet that focuses on meals that are easy to prepare or a program that delivers your meals for you. Additionally, look for programs that allow you to eat your favorite foods, at least occasionally. If you love chicken and steak, a vegetarian diet isn’t going to cut it. In general, though, the diet that you choose should encourage you to eat fruits and vegetables, whole grains and lean proteins.
Slipping Up
When following a diet plan, it’s common to “slip up”–eating foods that don’t really fit into the plan. What separates those who are successful in weight loss from those who are not is how you deal with these slip ups. Don’t use one slip up as an excuse to stay off track for the day or the week. Allow yourself to slip up, then get right back on track, following the diet plan you’ve chosen.
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