9 Strategies for Successful Dieting

Any successful diet plan should include an awareness of the amount of calories you are taking in versus the amount of calories you burn. No matter what diet you choose you need to be aware of the calorie count of every food you eat. Once you have determined your daily calorie limit in order to lose weight, you need to develop a diet plan. Several strategies can help ensure your success on whatever diet you choose.

1. Record Everything You Eat for Two Weeks

Keep a food diary of everything that you consume for two weeks and then buy a calorie counting book or find an online site. When you add up your total daily calories you may be surprised how much you are actually consuming.

2. Eat Four to Six Small Meals a Day

The best way to stick to a calorie-restricted diet is to eat several small meals throughout the day to maintain a constant blood sugar level and control hunger. Spreading your calories throughout the day will make it less likely that your body will store calories as fat and less likely that you will overeat at any one meal. No meal or snack throughout the day should be more than 400 calories.

3. Weigh and Measure Your Food

Many people, whether on a diet or not, have little idea of correct portion sizes. A serving of meat should be four ounces. This means, before it is cooked it should generally be the size and thickness of a deck of cards. It is critical to weigh and measure servings of foods until you become accustomed to accurately estimating the correct serving size.

4. Concentrate on Better Food Choices

Even little changes such as switching to skim milk, eating more low-fat diary, adding more fruit or vegetables, and choosing whole grain breads and pastas can make a difference in your diet. Low fat dairy, including skim milk, can lower blood pressure and help your body break down fat. Most fruits and vegetables and whole grain breads and pastas are an excellent source of fiber. Fiber can moderate your digestion and help you feel full longer, making it easier to stick to your eating schedule.

5. Increase Your Fluid Intake

You should be consuming six to eight cups of fluid a day. This does not mean you have to force yourself to drink eight glasses of water. Everyone takes in a certain amount of water in the foods they eat. When you are choosing drinks, water is best, but tea, coffee and diet drinks also count toward the total. Skim milk is good for a serving or two, but at 100 calories per serving it can add up fast. Most juices and sugary sodas should be avoided, they cause blood sugar spikes and crashes, and contain a lot of empty calories.

6. Eat Slowly and Chew Thoroughly

If you take the time to chew your food completely, your body will have longer to feel full and a smaller meal will not leave you wanting more. Take small bites and sip water while you eat.

7. Try Some New Recipes

Low-fat, low calorie food can quickly become boring, and can tend to be bland. The taste of many of the favorite foods you enjoy may come mostly from fat and salt. If you cut down on both of those ingredients you may find the food bland. Experiment with new herbs and spices to add a healthy dose of taste to your food.

8. Stay Away from Diet Disasters

Foods that are high in fat and sugar are disastrous to a successful diet strategy. Foods like pastries or candy can contain a third of your daily calories in one serving. You have to find a way to avoid the office donuts, the sugary morning latte, or that vending machine candy bar.

If you do have a lapse it is important to eat normally the rest of the day. Don't starve yourself in hopes of keeping within your calorie limit. You'll do more damage to your diet efforts by skipping meals than just accepting that you had a bad day. You can watch your calories more carefully for the rest of the day and even restrict yourself some the next day, but it is still important to maintain a steady supply of calories to your body.

9. Don't Set Your Calorie Limit Too Low

You might be tempted to restrict your calories even more thinking that you can lose weight faster. And although, cutting your caloric intake even further may initially trigger a bigger weight loss, studies have shown that you will quickly gain it back. It is much healthier and a better strategy to train yourself to a diet of small meals that will allow steady weight loss, rather than trying for a quick fix.

Losing one pound a week through calorie management is a safe weight loss rate. If you would like to lose weight faster, it is better to increase the calories you burn rather than decrease the calories you consume. In order to increase the total calories you burn, you should add aerobic workouts or weight training sessions

No diet plan can be successful if you are not burning more calories than you consume. For this reason, one of the best long-term weight loss strategies is counting calories. In order to be successful at calorie management, you need to learn portion control, eat several small meals a day, and avoid foods that are diet disasters. Once you begin to slowly lose weight through these techniques you may wish to add workouts to your weekly schedule to speed up the weight loss pace and help you feel better overall.