Without a shadow of a doubt, the most common New Year’s resolution in the West is to lose weight. However, it is also the first New Year’s resolution most apt to be broken! Losing weight is not difficult in theory, but practice is oh, so different. This is because it involves lifestyle changes.

Our bodies change as we get older and typically our level of activity decreases too. Maybe, we get an office job with a promotion, whereas we used to work ‘in the field’. But people in general, do not adjust their diet to match their variation in circumstances. We sit behind our desks or in retirement and think we can still eat and drink like we did twenty years ago. Big mistake!

Luckily, there are dozens of diets available to help us attain our weight loss goals. There are the traditional calorie counting diets, as advocated by Weight Watchers; there are the ‘new era’ diets like Atkins, which have us counting carbohydrates and there are no end of fad diets which are frankly not worth wasting time talking about.

The choice of which diet you would like to follow is all yours, of course, but it is well worth examining the main types of diet to see which one will suit you. Then you must determine whether you will require the help and encouragement of a weekly visit to a club or not, or whether you can get that camaraderie from an online club of slimmers, where you talk to fellow slimmers in the club forum online.

It is also worth fixing in your mind, why you want to diet. Is it to look better? Or to feel more comfortable in yourself? Or is it for health reasons? Or all three? Have a think about your reasons and let them motivate you. Whenever, you feel like packing it all in, remember your motivation. Get a book and journal your progress, but first write your motivation in bold capitals on the front page or cover. Keep it in front of you and read it out loud to yourself every day.

Consult some of the slimming sites online and work out a few key statistics like the average weight people are for your height, sex and body type and your BMI or body mass index. Write these figures on the first page of your book too and use them as the eventual goals.

You could produce a graph and plot your weekly weight to see how you are doing. Set realistic goals and targets. You can get heaps of free information from the Weight Watchers and Atkins websites or / and go to see your doctor for advice and leaflets.

Aim to lose something like 10-20 pounds in the first month and eight to ten per month after that. Go slowly and aim to go slowly, because then you will hit your targets and you won’t feel like giving up. When you get within five to ten pounds of your target weight, assuming that you have lost a lot of weight, rein back a little and allow yourself a little more freedom. Drop your target to one pound a week, so that you will get a feel for ‘eating normally’.

The dreaded exercise; you have to face it, you will need to do more exercise, but two times thirty minute walks a day is ordinarily enough. You could swim once a week too or get an exercise machine, if you are tied to the house by family.

Owen Jones, the writer of this article, writes on many topics, but is currently involved with how to lose weight online. If you have an interest in losing weight too, please go over to our website now at Why Can’t I Lose Weight? This and other unique content ” articles are available with free reprint rights.

The race to fitness is on and plenty of people are getting in on the act. Some people do it in order to achieve a sexy body, some people just do it because they are ashamed of their body, while others do it just to remain fit and healthy. As such, there are many fitness programs available on the Internet, in gyms, spas and fitness centres all over the world. Some are very – so expensive that you will lose weight just by trying to earn the money needed to pursue these fitness programs.

One may not have to go to the gym or the spa or any fitness center and spend much just to slim down and obtain that longed for beautiful body. There are many books available in the bookstores] offering weight loss programs that seem convenient and cheap. However, the books are not though. These weight loss programs, or diet plans are gaining immense popularity because of their publicity, testimonials and reviews and you may be confused as to exactly which one to follow. So before choosing which weight loss plan to follow, try reading the following summaries of the most popular diet programs around today.

The Atkins’ New Diet Revolution by Dr. Atkins: This diet plan promotes a high protein diet with less carbohydrates. You can dine heartily on vegetables and meat, but must not eat bread, rice or pasta. You are not restricted on your fat intake so it is OK to pour on the (correct) salad dressing and freely spread on the butter. However, during the diet, some people may find themselves lacking fibre and high on fat and cholesterol. Grains and fruits are also strictly limited.

The Carbohydrate Addict’s Diet by Drs. Heller. This diet programme also advocates following a low carbohydrate diet. It suggests eating mostly meats, vegetables and fruit, dairy and grain products. however, advises against consuming too many carbohydrates. So-called “Reward Meals” can be quite high in fats and saturated fats.

Choose to Lose: by Dr. Goor. It advises restricting your fat consumption. You are allowed a “fat” budget, but you are given freedom on how to use it. It does not pressure people to regulate their carbohydrate consumption. Eating meat and poultry as well as low-fat dairy and seafood is fine. You may also eat vegetables, fruits, cereals, bread and pasta. This weight loss plan is fairly healthy, because it recommends healthy amounts of fruits and vegetables and saturated fats. Watch your triglyceride levels though. If they are high, trim down on the carbohydrates and eat more unsaturated fats.

The DASH Diet. Advocates eating a moderate amount of fat and protein but lots of carbohydrates. It was primarily created to reduce blood pressure. The diet plan follows the pyramid food guide and encourages a high consumption of whole wheat grains and fruit and vegetables and low-fat dairy. Some dieters think it advises too much consumption to produce significant weight loss.

Eat More, Weigh Less: by Dr. Ornish. Primarily vegetarian food and strictly low-fat. Advises to watch out for low-fat dairy and egg whites. This diet plan is low in calcium and restricts the consumption of healthy foods like seafood and lean poultry.

Eat Right for Your Type: This scheme is really unusual because it bases its recommendations on your blood type. For example, it recommends lots of meat for people with the blood type O. However, diet plans for some blood types are nutritionally unbalanced and too low in calories. Furthermore, just for the record, there is no proof that blood type can affect dietary requirements.

The Pritkin Principle: It is focused on trimming the number of calories by eating watery foods that make you feel full. Eating vegetables, fruits, oatmeal, pasta, soups, salads and low-fat dairy is OK, although it restricts protein sources to lean meat, seafood and poultry. It is healthy because it provides low amounts of saturated fats and large amounts of vegetables and fruits. However, it is low on calcium and restricts lean protein sources.

Volumetrics: It recommends consuming fewer calories. It advises about the same foods as Pritkin but restricts fatty food and grain foodstuffs like popcorn, pretzels and crackers. This program is reasonably healthy given the high amounts of fruit and vegetables. It also recommends eating fewer calories and saturated fats.

The Zone: It is fairly low on carbohydrates but moderately high on proteins. It advises low-fat protein foods like fish and chicken and vegetables, fruits and grains. It is also a healthy diet but lacking in grains and calcium.

Weight Watchers: They advise high carbohydrate meals, yet are moderate on fats and proteins. A very healthy diet plan and very flexible too. It permits the dieter to devise his own meals rather than offering recipes, although there are Weight Watchers’ TV dinners in the shops.

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