Start the day sensibly Skipping breakfast may seem to be a good idea, and many dieters choose this as an easy option.
Some people just don't feel like eating soon after they wake up, while others see it as a way to avoid a few calories.
The problem with this, though, is that it's actually counterproductive to miss out on breakfast.
Studies have shown that far from causing you to lose calories, not having breakfast can greatly increase your chances of putting on weight.
There are several reasons for this.
One of the main ones is that breakfast fires up the body's metabolism for the rest of the day.
Delaying the process means you'll be less energetic and less able to cope with processing the foodstuffs and snacks that go into your body later in the day.
And if you skip this very important meal at the start of the day you'll tend to end up eating more towards the end of it.
Try to make sure your breakfast is a healthy one.
Avoid fatty and processed foods such as bacon or sausages.
Stick to wholegrain cereals, wholemeal bread, fruit and boiled, scrambled and poached eggs (never fried).
Have a plan of action A lot of people fall at the first hurdle because they don't develop a plan of attack.
Making the commitment to lose weight is one thing, but if you don't know how you're going to proceed with achieving your goals how do you expect to reach them? Often people don't succeed with their diet because they don't have a plan.
This is a pity, because so many people who start off highly motivated end up losing their motivation without knowing exactly why.
Things to consider are: o How much weight do you want to lose? o The different food strategies you're going to employ.
o Possible obstacles along the way.
Without a plan there's a strong chance that your motivation will give way to procrastination and failure.
Dieting isn't starvation Dieting doesn't mean starving yourself.
It's very easy to fall into the trap of thinking that a diet is a form of deprivation.
Worse than that is the idea that starving yourself is the only sure-fire way to ensure weight loss success.
Apart from leading to feelings of deprivation, starving yourself has a significant impact on the metabolism.
The body's metabolism begins to slow down-alerting the brain to the need for sustenance and energy.
This in turn leads to overwhelming compulsions to binge on quick fixes just to get calories into the body.
The key to successful dieting is quite simple-eat a variety of fresh food that isn't processed or high in sugars and fats.
Fill up on what's good for you and cut out what isn't.
Get enough water Many people who want to lose weight don't drink enough water.
Water is an excellent weight loss tool and here's why: a common misinterpretation of the body's warning signals is when you feel thirsty.
The feeling of dehydration is very easily confused with hunger pangs.
Next time you feel hungry-especially if it's soon after you've eaten-try drinking a glass of water.
You should find that your cravings subside.
Getting enough water either directly or from fruit and vegetables helps your metabolism to burn up calories faster.
If you're really serious about losing weight, maintaining water levels is a really big help.
The recommended level is about six pints or two liters.
Realistic goals Many weight loss plans fail when the dieter gets frustrated because there's no immediate benefit.
This is usually because their initial expectations for weight loss are set too high.
Failing to reach these goals makes the dieter dejected, anxious, and eventually reluctant to continue with the plan.
The way around this is to set more realistic, smaller goals.
Just accept that nothing happens overnight, and that any move in the right direction is better than the opposite.
Take some exercise You should also think about the benefits of exercise.
Remember how energetic and alert you feel while you're exercising and immediately afterwards.
Exercise doesn't need to mean a punishing session in the gym: any consistent exercise-even a brisk half hour walk three or four times a week-will help.
Some people just don't feel like eating soon after they wake up, while others see it as a way to avoid a few calories.
The problem with this, though, is that it's actually counterproductive to miss out on breakfast.
Studies have shown that far from causing you to lose calories, not having breakfast can greatly increase your chances of putting on weight.
There are several reasons for this.
One of the main ones is that breakfast fires up the body's metabolism for the rest of the day.
Delaying the process means you'll be less energetic and less able to cope with processing the foodstuffs and snacks that go into your body later in the day.
And if you skip this very important meal at the start of the day you'll tend to end up eating more towards the end of it.
Try to make sure your breakfast is a healthy one.
Avoid fatty and processed foods such as bacon or sausages.
Stick to wholegrain cereals, wholemeal bread, fruit and boiled, scrambled and poached eggs (never fried).
Have a plan of action A lot of people fall at the first hurdle because they don't develop a plan of attack.
Making the commitment to lose weight is one thing, but if you don't know how you're going to proceed with achieving your goals how do you expect to reach them? Often people don't succeed with their diet because they don't have a plan.
This is a pity, because so many people who start off highly motivated end up losing their motivation without knowing exactly why.
Things to consider are: o How much weight do you want to lose? o The different food strategies you're going to employ.
o Possible obstacles along the way.
Without a plan there's a strong chance that your motivation will give way to procrastination and failure.
Dieting isn't starvation Dieting doesn't mean starving yourself.
It's very easy to fall into the trap of thinking that a diet is a form of deprivation.
Worse than that is the idea that starving yourself is the only sure-fire way to ensure weight loss success.
Apart from leading to feelings of deprivation, starving yourself has a significant impact on the metabolism.
The body's metabolism begins to slow down-alerting the brain to the need for sustenance and energy.
This in turn leads to overwhelming compulsions to binge on quick fixes just to get calories into the body.
The key to successful dieting is quite simple-eat a variety of fresh food that isn't processed or high in sugars and fats.
Fill up on what's good for you and cut out what isn't.
Get enough water Many people who want to lose weight don't drink enough water.
Water is an excellent weight loss tool and here's why: a common misinterpretation of the body's warning signals is when you feel thirsty.
The feeling of dehydration is very easily confused with hunger pangs.
Next time you feel hungry-especially if it's soon after you've eaten-try drinking a glass of water.
You should find that your cravings subside.
Getting enough water either directly or from fruit and vegetables helps your metabolism to burn up calories faster.
If you're really serious about losing weight, maintaining water levels is a really big help.
The recommended level is about six pints or two liters.
Realistic goals Many weight loss plans fail when the dieter gets frustrated because there's no immediate benefit.
This is usually because their initial expectations for weight loss are set too high.
Failing to reach these goals makes the dieter dejected, anxious, and eventually reluctant to continue with the plan.
The way around this is to set more realistic, smaller goals.
Just accept that nothing happens overnight, and that any move in the right direction is better than the opposite.
Take some exercise You should also think about the benefits of exercise.
Remember how energetic and alert you feel while you're exercising and immediately afterwards.
Exercise doesn't need to mean a punishing session in the gym: any consistent exercise-even a brisk half hour walk three or four times a week-will help.