Weightloss diet = No good

There is no such thing as a weight loss diet. Sure there are many of them out there Atkins, South Beach, blood type, Alkaline, and 100 mile just to name a few and yes they temporarily remove weight. I say temporarily because I have yet to meet someone that lost weight and kept it off on any of the above diets once they stopped those diets.

The only diet that truly works is a life change diet. You have to change your eating habits forever. The good news is you don't have to eat perfect. You're not stuck eating rabbit food the rest of your life. I'm not going to lie it's pretty tough at first. Eating habits are the hardest habits to change. It was far easier for me to quit smoking than it was to change how and what I ate and I still don't do it perfectly. Which really is the good news.

I'm not a nutrionalist so I won't pretend to be one. Everything I've said above I'm sure you've heard before. Sit down with a nutrionalist and they will say the same thing. Don't worry, I'm not going to leave you hanging on how to actually do this amazing life change process. I will share what worked for me.

1. I set a date 2 weeks out.I would suggest a Tuesday in case you have a bad Monday. Then I ate whatever I wanted guilt free for two weeks. Let me tell you how liberating that was!

2. I psyched myself up for it. I decided I was going to go hard and strict for 12 weeks. 12 measly weeks. I lost the majority of the weight I wanted to lose in those 12 weeks.

3. Once week 1 day 1 starts - start a food journal. Record everything you put in your mouth in a day. Everything. Eliminate all junk food from the house. Get rid of the chocolate, the ice cream, the chips, soda. Replace these items with fresh fruits and vegetables. Try some raw peanuts, almonds, cashews. Get a bag of granola. Cut out all fast food and all fried food.

4. The only way to lose weight is to use more calories than you take in during the day. Start by knowing how many calories you need to take in to lose weight. My personal favorite calculator is here: http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm and start reading the labels on all the foods you eat. Check the calories, check the fat content. Realize that it takes approximately 30 min of walking to burn 100 calories.

5. Get active. I don't care if you walk, bike, swim, skip rope, lift weights or run. But do something every other day for at least 30 min. You can find the time! No excuses!

At the end of 12 weeks if you really feel the need go ahead and have a junk meal. If you've been good for the 12 weeks you will probably like your results and won't want to stray from your good eating habits. If you do have that unhealthy meal I'll be surprised if you don't notice how crappy you feel after eating it, and wonder how you ever ate like that all the time.

The benefits are amazing! It's been over a year for me and I've continued to lose weight and still enjoy some of the junk I used to. I just don't eat it near as often or in the quantity I used to. My everyday food choices never leave me feeling stuffed or bloated. My immune system is strong and rarely am I sick and when I am it's for a very short duration. I look and feel younger and I'm way happier than I have ever been. It was the best,hardest action plan I've followed up on to date.