5 Effective Strategies for Diet Success

Wandering through the health aisles of a bookstore can be overwhelming. Shelves and shelves full of diet books that all promise the same: strategies for diet success. If there are so many strategies out there, which one is the best for you?

That is a very tough question and almost impossible to answer. After all we are very unique and what I eat might not work for your lifestyle and body. But no matter what book you pick, they all seem to have some similarities in their strategies for diet success:

#1 – Watching starchy and sugary carbohydrates intake

Some of the books might suggest limiting carbs for dinner, others allow carbs for a couple days of the week and again others won’t allow carbs from grains and refined sugar.

It seems like starchy carbohydrates and simple sugars are playing a big role in diet success, no matter the diet book.

Research shows, the prime suspects causing weight gain and even worse disease like obesity and diabetes are starchy carbohydrates and simple sugars we consume.

Not only do they pack on the pounds if they are over eaten, they also have an effect on hormones that regulate fat accumulation.

Therefor avoiding sugars and starchy carbohydrates will naturally force the body to tap into its stores of fat to burn for fuel.

Even if the total number of calories consumed stays the same. Sounds like a dream, doesn’t it?

#2 – Balancing hormone levels

It is complicated. Super complicated. And no one will ever expect that you can level hormones by yourself. Just be mindful that there is more to diet success than calories in and calories out.

Hormones are little messengers in the body that tell the body to get to work. Their demands could sound like this: Store this glucose. Release this fatty acid. Grow new cells. Heart pump harder. Restrict blood flow to digestive system. No way you are going to sleep now. And so on and on. These demands can interfere with your wish to lose weight.

However good nutrition is crucial to the production of the right hormones and balancing your hormones. Therefore effective strategies for diet success will take that into consideration.

#3 – Kick start healthier eating with a juice cleanse

A juice cleanse is a great way to kick start a healthier way of eating but not necessarily for losing weight. You will lose weight because you are simply not eating but the weight will be back in no time if that is the only incentive a juice cleanse gives you.

A juice cleanse is an ice cold turkey approach, NOT EASY and definitely not for everyone. It will demonstrate how much eating, chewing and slurping stuff means to you. You will become aware of triggers and eating rituals that are no longer a factor.

It will suck. You will have heavy disputes with your mind. You will question this strategy on day two but it will be so much of a lesson at the same time. Never thought that food plays such an important role in your life?

Like I said, this strategy is not for permanent weight loss. And the main reason why people do it is for cleansing purposes, to get rid of toxins and waste products that have accumulated in the body.

Before you try this, make sure you have talked to a health professional and have a before and after nutrition plan in place. Otherwise this is not a strategy for you and you are doing yourself more harm than good.

#4 – Writing a food journal

It’s like clock work. Every working day at 3:30pm you find yourself with a big smile on you face standing in front of the cashier of the cafeteria. In your hand the seasonal highlight – a dark chocolate triple fudge donut – which is going to melt splendidly with small sips of the vanilla latte.

But why are you really here? Are you starving? Are you giving yourself kudos for all the hard work you did today? Do you lack a friendly chat in the afternoon? Or are you just in need of a short break, which accidently takes you to the cafeteria handing over money and getting food in return?

Writing a food journal can be quite an adventure and an eye-opening experiment. Writing down when, what and why you eat will expose triggers that make you consume extra calories. You then can investigate what the real need is and find others ways to satisfy the feeling.

This reflecting exercise is one of the best strategies for diet success because you first learn about your eating habits and then start correcting them one by one.

Note: Try our FREE calorie counter and exercise journal

#5 – Finding support

Dieting is hard work and since it is hard work you want to see results. Nothing is more frustrating than hard work not paying off. So go out there and ask the experts. See a nutritionist, a personal trainer or other health professionals that cater to your needs and walk you through the journey.

You rather not have a person suggesting what to do? Then join a cooking class. Attend a health expo or health talk. Or best thing ever go on a health retreat. Let others pamper you and observe how they prepare a healthy salad that tastes good. Explore what is needed to make you feel good besides food.

Conclusion

You don’t have to cross this diet jungle alone. Many have been there before you. Why not learn from their mistakes and success stories? However, learning is a big part of a fruitful diet. If a program doesn’t offer you any insights that you can apply at home or just hooks you onto their special diet products, then don’t waste your time and money. It probably doesn’t belong to winning strategies for diet success.

I hope you all will find your personal approach to diet success. You are here, you are reading this and contemplating information. This alone is the most important step in all strategies to diet success. You got this.