Testing It Up

The quest for the right diet towards achieving one’s weight loss goals is like searching for The One; you are most likely going to encounter a few that will not quite work out before finding the right one for you.

In a previous post we shared with you the diets that simply won’t work. This time around, we will be sharing with you tips from Dawn Jackson-Blatner, RD, a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association (ADA), on finding the right diet plan for you as featured on WebMD.

The first thing that one should remember is that there is no catch-all diet plan that works for everyone. In as much as every person is unique, the fact that a person’s needs – dietary requirements included – will vary from every individual is a natural thing that will follow. Hence, it is to one’s advantage that a diet plan should be drawn up and customized especially for you. This also means that the miracle diet that the lady two cubicles down from you at the office swears by may not exactly work the same way for you.

Also stick to this guideline: it should be simple and realistic enough for you to stick with long-term. It is for this reason that Blatner said that the diet that works may not necessarily refer to a “special diet” at all; it may mean simply tweaking your current diet here and there in order to make it healthier. The focus, as we have mentioned quite a number of times before, should be on “balance, variety and moderation.”

Blatner shared three basic steps in coming up with the right diet plan. The first step is to think about one’s current lifestyle and identify your “weakest links” as far as diet is concerned. Things such as being a sweet tooth and the tendency to snack all day long are examples. Knowing what these factors are will help you in formulating a diet strategy. There are instances when the strategy will not necessarily involve changing your diet; if stress is what causes you to overeat, for instance, then going on a stress management program may be the more appropriate option.

Next is to identify one to three small changes that one can realistically make to one’s diet and exercise routines immediately. These changes will not give you the results you want overnight, but the goal is to arrive at a plan that is “safe, effective and sustainable”.

After a few weeks of sticking with these small changes, reassess and see whether changes have occurred; it is at this point when you may want to think of adding a couple more changes. Twelve weeks is when one will start to see progress, so this is about the right time for one to make a few more adjustments.

Tags: diet plan, effective health diet, healthy diet

Related posts

• TLC Towards Lower Cholesterol Levels (0)
• Healthier Food Take-out Choices (1)
• Bad Food That May Actually Be Good Food (Part 2) (0)
• Bad Food That May Actually Be Good Food (0)
• Bad Food and Good Food: The Conclusion (0)

Name (required)

Mail (will not be published) (required)

Website