The Most Practical Diet You Ever

Americans lose millions of pounds a year - only to gain most of it back within a year.
You've probably heard over and over again that the real secret to losing weight
permanently is to make permanent changes in your eating habits and lifestyle.
Throughout decades of high protein, low protein, Air Force diets, Atkins, Scarsdale diets,
cabbage diets, eat-all-you-want-and-still-lose-weight diets that is the one piece of advice
that has remained strong. No matter what the latest diet craze, over and over throughout
the years, the one "diet" that effected a long-term, permanent weight loss was the 'eat a
well-balanced, portion-controlled diet and exercise regularly'.
Why are fad diets so popular? Diets feed our need to be actively doing something.
Weighing, measuring, counting - whether its calories, exchanges or carbs - all give us the
feeling of gaining control over our bodies and our weight. In the long run, though, all the
measuring and obsession with what, how much and when we eat becomes
overwhelming. When we stop living by strictly controlled guidelines set out by other
people -the latest diet guru - the weight comes back.
There is a practical way to lose weight that doesn't involve arcane combinations of foods
to set up an ideal balance of foods that burn more than they give, or that promise to 'turn
your body into a fat-burning machine'. It is to simply eat a healthy balance of all types of
foods in portions that are reasonable for your body, while at the same time raising your
activity level to burn more calories than you take in. Below are some practical guidelines
to help you adjust your diet and lifestyle to help you lose that weight - and keep it off
permanently.
1. Adjust your attitude. You're not going on a diet - you're eating what your body needs.
To maintain your weight loss, you'll need to maintain your new eating habits for the rest of
your life - and that's a far easier prospect if your diet plan is one that makes sense and is
easy to maintain.
2. Think square when you plan your meals. Like a square has four corners, so should
your meals. At every meal, include a protein, a healthy fat, a grain/legume and a
fruit/vegetable.
3. Eat three squares and at least two snacks every day. Your snacks should be in the
grain/legume or fruit/vegetable corner.
4. If you're under stress, eat something every two hours. Your body sends out distress
signals when you're putting it under stress. Give it healthy fuel to keep it working right.
5. Aim for no more than 60 grams of carbohydrate per day at first. Spread the
carbohydrates over the course of the day - 15 at each meal and 7 at each snack.
6. Limit dairy products to 3 or less daily.
7. Completely avoid soft drinks - even the diet ones.
8. Drink 6-10 glasses of water each day.
9. Eliminate 'white foods' from your diet. Do away with white sugar, white flour and white
cereal products.
10. Take a nutritional supplement - at least a good multivitamin daily.