What's the Best Diet for Me? :

How often have you tried to decide which program was the best for you? What is the right program for you to lose weight and keep it off permanently? I’ve learned that all diets work, and no diet works -- unless you make permanent lifestyle changes to maintain the weight loss.

It’s ironic that we actually eat fewer calories today than we did at the beginning of the 20th century. However, we’re eating differently. We’re eating more refined carbohydrate in white flour and hamburger buns. We’re drinking empty calories in soda, and we’re not eating enough fruit and vegetables.

Food manufacturers spend billions in advertising to tempt us to eat fast and eat large. The expression “living large” used to mean living richly or living well. Today, living large means being overweight or obese. Here we are in 2006, and Americans are getting fatter, not healthier.

How to Choose the Right Plan for You
The way to pick a plan that’s right for you is to find one that contains foods you like. Just as important, you also need a program that reflects your lifestyle.How much do you enjoy cooking? Some people even hate to boil water! A gourmet meal is wasted on someone who prefers only broiled steak. Convenience is the name of the game for some. If you hate frozen entrees, then don’t choose a plan that features frozen meals for dinner. If your idea of a great meal is spinach and pasta with tofu, then you need the program that satisfies your taste buds with great vegetarian recipes.

It’s Not a Die-it. It’s a Live-it!
Some people approach weight loss with fear and loathing. They think, “It’s going to hurt!” They’re afraid they’re going to feel deprived. They think they’re going to be miserable, but only for a while. Do you know anyone like this? The person who says, “Well, I can do this for a week or two. Maybe even for a month. But, I know that a diet doesn’t have to last forever, so I can get the results I want and then go back to my usual favorites.”

These people can’t think beyond the scale. It’s like deciding to run the New York City Marathon. I’m often amazed by how people gear up for this grueling test of stamina and fitness. They decide (for their own personal satisfaction) to see if they can do it -- to go into training for the hardest thing they’ll ever do in their life -- run more than 22 miles in one day. And many do it!

They’re unable to walk without pain for weeks afterwards, and some even suffer permanent injury. But they do it. They cross the finish line. And most never run again. A year later and 20 pounds heavier, they wonder, “Hey, what happened? How did this weight appear?”

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