Tips for Staying on Track with your New Years Resolution Diet

Most people who start diets in the wake of New Years Resolutions, end up falling off the bandwagon by spring. So how do you change your behaviour and resist the almost-inevitable New Years diet plunder? Where is the balance between far-fetched diet aspirations and realistic goal setting?

The next 7 New Years diet checkpoints are intended to help clarify and refocus your objectives, set you on the right course and renew your realism surrounding your weight loss.

Resolve to:

1) Understand that dieting is about baby steps. It’s not healthy to lose too much weight at once. You’ve got to burn 3500 calories to shed a pound, so realize that your weight loss will be slow and steady.

2) Be realistic with your goal weight. Manage your expectations by setting realistic goals. For example, base your goals on losing 1-2 pounds per week. That means it will only take 2 months to lose 10 pounds! You’d be surprised at how differently clothes fit after losing 10 pounds.

3) Choose a diet that fits your lifestyle. If you love carbs, it’s likely Weight Watchers’ moderation-based approach may be a better bet than South Beach or Atkins’ carb-cutting approach. Review your diet based on its underpinning methodology and your lifestyle.

4) Understand there’s more than one way to lose weight. Most diet programs have successful graduates, just because one program didn’t work for you, there’s likely another that will.

5) Get active. Although healthy eating is one way to manage weight, exercise plays a big part as well. Consider adding an exercise program to your weight loss plan to boost your energy and enhance your results.

6) Go for sustainability. If you pick a diet which is founded on shakes, bars or herbal pills think about the future. Could you drink shakes for breakfast and lunch for the rest of your life? Your weight loss should not deprive you of the nutrients of natural food. Know there are always natural grocery-store alternatives to diet shakes, bars and pills.

7) Remember why. Another reason why so many people stop their New Years diets by spring is because life gets busy and they lose sight of WHY they started to diet in the first place. It’s likely you had a good reason, therefore, resolve to keep this reason(s) in the forefront of your mind when dieting. Whether you need to write it on sticky notes and post it everywhere, or write a personal diet manifesto, staying true to your original (or renewed) reason for dieting will help focus your weight loss efforts.