Choosing a Diet Plan

The Flat Belly Diet! The South Beach Diet! The Fat Flush! Weight Watchers! Slim-Fast! Jenny Craig! Atkins! Protein Power Plan! Opti-fast! Medi-fast! The Geno Type Diet! The Blood Type Diet! Well, I think you get the point. Diets abound... and most diets claim to have the answers to your weight struggles. The problem is, our weight struggles are as individual as we are. No two body types are the same genetically and no two react to the same foods the same way. While certain biological processes may be similar, the way we react to our food is as individual as our finger prints.

So if you're looking to lose weight and want a plan to follow, what do you do?

First, know your body. Take note of your "diet" and health history. Are you active? Sedentary? Do you have a particular fondness for sugars? Starches? Write down everything you can think of that pertains to your eating patterns and weight issues. Before you actually start a diet keep a log of what you normally eat for a week. Journaling helps you locate particular areas of weakness for you, whether it be times of the day that trigger cravings or emotional binges. It can also help you identify the foods that you gravitate towards, which can help identify an addiction. For example, if you recognize that you can't live without pastries or potato chips, you may have a carbohydrate addiction or insulin resistance, in which case a low carb diet would work well for you. Journaling will help you see all the clues that can point you in the right direction for lifestyle change. When assessing your needs, be sure to include your personal physician in the process and let him/her know about the changes you desire to make.

Secondly, after studying your body and habits, study the plans that are out there. All of the diets have something to offer. If you have recognized that you may have sugar cravings, then check out the plans that target that issue. If you find that you react negatively to wheat and grains, then you would want to lean towards a plan that limits gluten in your diet. Many plans out there advertise as if they are the absolute authority on weight loss and no other program will work for you. Again, the problem with that is our individuality. What you want to do is, when looking at the plans, find one that allows you to customize it to fit YOU. If a plan calls for dairy, but you don't respond well to dairy, you need to be able to use a substitution. If an exercise regimen is part of the plan, you need to be able to alter it to fit your starting physical condition. There are such plans out there. Six Week Body Makeover by Michael Thurmond is one such plan that is built on "customization", from foods eaten to the exercises recommended. If all the information out there has your head reeling, it would be wise to seek the advice of a nutritional consultant or a registered dietician at this point.

Finally, choose a plan you can LIVE WITH. We all know that diets don't work, but lifestyle changes DO. If you have recognized that you are insulin resistant or a carbohydrate addict, then you must come to terms with the fact that you must keep those foods in check. If you have the personality type that doesn't know how to have Little Debbies in moderation, then stay away. Choosing a diet plan is more of a nutritional change than a temporary fix. Face it, an "all grapefruit diet" is not something you can do forever. This change you want to make may initially be about "losing weight"... but your longterm health and wellness will also be affected.

If you want to get healthy, take weight off and keep it off, you need to do a personal evaluation of your health and lifestyle, evaluate the recommended eating plans or "diets" out there to meet your needs, and make the decision to stick with it for your health, and the quality of your life.