Among the many things a new dieter asks is "How long should I diet?" The common answer is to stick to the diet until the ideal rate is reached. But this is simply untrue.
If you're trying to lose weight, you might notice that you gain back all the pounds you lost (plus more) when you revert to your old eating habits, no matter how long you stick to your diet. This is the main reason why dieter's young and old want to know exactly how long it takes for the diet's good effects to stay for good.
If you're asking how long you should diet, then there's good news and bad news for you. The bad news is that there is no diet duration. Going into a diet isn't temporary. Dieting involves a change in lifestyle, and by that, it's meant to last your entire life. How long do you need to stick to your diet? As long as you'd like to stick to your ideal weight!
Here's the good news: it's actually easy sticking to your diet. The primary reason why a lot of dieters fail after a short time is because they try to make all these drastic lifestyle changes all at once. Believe me, no one's that strong. You should go through your diet slowly and steadily. Below are some tips that may help you stick to your diet more easily.
Start small, but don't stop growing.
Start your diet with small achievable sacrifices. A good way to start your diet would be to avoid all forms of soda and drink more water, natural fruit juice or low-fat milk for a couple of weeks. (Did you know that a can of soda can contain around ten teaspoons of sugar?) If you're in charge, then it'll be easier for you to stick with your diet than having to follow every 'diet rule'. After getting used to this sacrifice, impose another manageable limit then another, and another until you reach all your goals in the weight loss process. Handling lifestyle changes would be easier to achieve if they come in small chunks.
Exercise it really does work.
Dieting on its own can help shed all those extra pounds eventually. But with exercise, weight loss will be exponentially faster. Exercising for at least an hour every day for five days a week can prevent you from gaining all those pounds back in case you'd revert to your old nasty eating habits. Go to your preferred gym and try incorporating cardiovascular exercises, strength training and flexibility routines throughout your workout. Also, incorporating fun exercises like dancing, kickboxing and Yoga can also encourage you to stick to your diet.
Don't be so hard on yourself.
Keep in mind that any food, no matter how "sinful" it may be, can fit into any diet. But you'll need to balance your intake by eating more healthy foods to outweigh the bad ones.
Also remember that no one can stick to a diet flawlessly - there's bound to be the occasional temptation. You may miss a workout on a busy schedule. You may need to drink to toast a friend's wedding. Whatever the setback, it's never the end of the world. Instead of feeling sorry for yourself and not trying again, get up and get back on track as quickly as you can. If all goes well, your weight will continue dropping as though nothing happened at all!
If you're trying to lose weight, you might notice that you gain back all the pounds you lost (plus more) when you revert to your old eating habits, no matter how long you stick to your diet. This is the main reason why dieter's young and old want to know exactly how long it takes for the diet's good effects to stay for good.
If you're asking how long you should diet, then there's good news and bad news for you. The bad news is that there is no diet duration. Going into a diet isn't temporary. Dieting involves a change in lifestyle, and by that, it's meant to last your entire life. How long do you need to stick to your diet? As long as you'd like to stick to your ideal weight!
Here's the good news: it's actually easy sticking to your diet. The primary reason why a lot of dieters fail after a short time is because they try to make all these drastic lifestyle changes all at once. Believe me, no one's that strong. You should go through your diet slowly and steadily. Below are some tips that may help you stick to your diet more easily.
Start small, but don't stop growing.
Start your diet with small achievable sacrifices. A good way to start your diet would be to avoid all forms of soda and drink more water, natural fruit juice or low-fat milk for a couple of weeks. (Did you know that a can of soda can contain around ten teaspoons of sugar?) If you're in charge, then it'll be easier for you to stick with your diet than having to follow every 'diet rule'. After getting used to this sacrifice, impose another manageable limit then another, and another until you reach all your goals in the weight loss process. Handling lifestyle changes would be easier to achieve if they come in small chunks.
Exercise it really does work.
Dieting on its own can help shed all those extra pounds eventually. But with exercise, weight loss will be exponentially faster. Exercising for at least an hour every day for five days a week can prevent you from gaining all those pounds back in case you'd revert to your old nasty eating habits. Go to your preferred gym and try incorporating cardiovascular exercises, strength training and flexibility routines throughout your workout. Also, incorporating fun exercises like dancing, kickboxing and Yoga can also encourage you to stick to your diet.
Don't be so hard on yourself.
Keep in mind that any food, no matter how "sinful" it may be, can fit into any diet. But you'll need to balance your intake by eating more healthy foods to outweigh the bad ones.
Also remember that no one can stick to a diet flawlessly - there's bound to be the occasional temptation. You may miss a workout on a busy schedule. You may need to drink to toast a friend's wedding. Whatever the setback, it's never the end of the world. Instead of feeling sorry for yourself and not trying again, get up and get back on track as quickly as you can. If all goes well, your weight will continue dropping as though nothing happened at all!
About the Author:
If this article helps you, The Writer Peter Hilford has been a diet enthusiast for several years and has put together some Practical diet information on his website about How Long Should I Diet. This article may be freely distributed without modification and provided that the copyright notice and any author's name's remain intact.
