Dieting Current News – Losing Twenty Pounds

November 24, 2009 Filed Under: Dieting

One way to establish your weight loss programme is to keep a food diary. Start a full week before you plan to commence dieting. Enter every single piece of food and every drink you have into the diary. A log of seven days consumption will tell you a lot about your eating habits, and how you can make positive changes.

If it’s evident you’re eating fast food meals and too many cakes, then those should be the first to go. It’s possible that you are eating good food – but just too much of it. Whichever it is, your dietary record will help to identify what you need to change.

Write down an Action Plan for the next week. On a blank page, write down detailed notes to cover the following: With regard to food, note what you can’t eat, and what you’ll only eat occasionally. Then make a list of food that you can eat freely.

If you enjoy alcohol, decide on a small quantity that you will allow yourself at the weekend, and write it down. Sugary fizzy sodas are banned! And on to exercise – make a note of the daily activities you plan to fit into your week.

Get on the scales just before you’re about to start your program. Then repeat the process each week. If necessary, modify parts of the plan for better results. Don’t be tempted to weigh yourself too often – once every week at the same time is sufficient.

With a plan like this, you’re in complete control. It’s a good idea to add useful comments each day to illustrate what’s helpful and what’s not. Mark down which days you completed your proposed exercises. Monitoring your weight and health is so much more manageable with a personal record.

Do keep your expectations reasonable though. At first, it seems to be all effort and no reward! Patience and perseverance are everything. Keeping up your motivation is sometimes tough, so try to dwell on the end result and the joy it will bring!

If you do get demoralised with your results, analyse what’s been happening. It’s possible your programme needs some adjusting. Exercising more regularly can do a lot for your metabolism. Why not take a twenty minute walk every lunch time, and increase the pace each day?

Feel good about every pound you lose. Quantifying the results you achieve makes dieting a great deal easier to maintain long-term. You may not want to splash out on clothes until all the weight has come off. But you could spoil yourself with a pamper session when you reach a mini-goal.