Choosing the Best Weight Loss Program for You

It had been going on for a while, but with more frequency and more ferocity. I cannot close the button on at least 3 or 4 pairs of pants that I'm convinced fitted me perfectly a year ago. There are at least another 3 pairs that I CAN close - as long as I don't eat, sneeze, cough or laugh too hard once they're on!

I'm feeling ambushed. I knew it had to happen - being a little over 40 - okay, 2 years over 40 - and not being as active as I should have been (isn't hindsight a beautiful thing). But this insidious roll has developed, it seems, almost overnight. Since my youngest is now 10 I certainly can't blame her anymore, but I just feel that losing my waistline has been quite sudden. Action is required.

These days, most things start with a search on Google. So I Googled 'weight loss' - fool that I am! How on earth do you choose a diet plan from 25 gazillion results?! How do you assess the programs, who do you believe - aaaagh!

I then moved onto the many forums, reading what other people were saying, what questions they had and how they had chosen a weight loss program. I compiled a list - mostly I think common sense - of criteria that I wanted in a weight loss program. This is it:

1. Simplicity
I am neither a master chef nor a math whizz, so any program I'm going on has to be easy to use - preferably with someone else working out the menus and calories and all that stuff.

2. Flexibility
I eat the foods that I like - and that ain't going to change now - old dog and new tricks etc. If I go out for dinner, I'm not ordering a lettuce leaf and a slice of cucumber. I want some variety and freedom to choose what I eat (within reason f course).

3. Sustainability
Is this diet going to help me change my eating habits in a way that I can maintain - forever? A plan that I can adapt a little once I've lost the initial weight that will help me maintain that weight - that's what I want.

4. Affordability
I have neither the time nor the money (nor the inclination) to pay a monthly fee and attend meetings regularly. I'm also not prepared to spend a fortune on exotic ingredients and fancy foodstuff - I want a once-off fee, and I'd really like a money-back guarantee.

5. Adaptability
When do they expect me to do all that exercise?? Can I adapt what I'm supposed to eat for the rest of my family without facing a mutiny? My lifestyle can only adapt so much, so I need a program that is adaptable too.

I'm beginning to think I'm being a little too demanding of my prospective weight loss program, but I figure, hey, if I'm going to live with it for the next few weeks or months, I get to make some of the rules! In the end I found not just one, but two programs that fit the bill. Find them at http://www.getdown2it.net.