Would you like to lose weight but can't see the forest for the trees and you don't know where to start? You can ask yourself these 5 questions to discover which diet suits you.
Don't get tempted
There are countless diets that you can start following. They all indicate that you can lose weight quickly and without hunger. Very tempting, but also very confusing. You have never succeeded and yet you are thinking again, but what if this really works? Ask yourself the following questions first.
1. Do you have health problems?
Everyone is different and what works for one person may not work for another. If you have to choose a diet, it is important to see if you have any health problems that you should take into account.
People with diabetes, high blood pressure, or high cholesterol need different types of food than someone who is only 5 kilos overweight.
Your fitness also plays a major role. Some diets are accompanied by a heavy sports regime. If you are not a sporty type, you will never sustain this in the long term, so it is unwise to choose such a diet.
2. How much money do you have to spend?
There are several studies showing that losing weight through a commercial diet is more successful than losing weight your own way. But what if you have almost no money to spend? That doesn't mean you can't go on a diet. It is important that you think about how much money you want to spend on your diet before you start. Part of the diets will already be lost.
Then research as many diets as possible that fit your budget. Make sure all costs are within your budget. So the food, costs for exercise and possible coaching. Everything must be within the amount you want to spend.
Also think about how long it will take you to reach your goal weight and whether you can miss that amount all the way to your goal weight.
Ultimately, it is not the cost that you spend on your diet that you will have success with weight loss. Your excess weight will not disappear because you pay money to lose weight.
Don't let it deter you from starting your diet if you don't have a lot of money to spend. Today there are good cheap or even free apps and online programs that can help you lose weight. This makes it easier to make your own low-cost weight loss program a success.
3. Does the diet fit into my schedule?
A major reason many diets fail is because healthy habits don't fit into our busy lives. We have a tight schedule and often run from appointment to appointment. Healthy living simply takes a little more time and preparation. It's easy to pick up food after work or eat fries at the station.
You really need to prioritize health if you want your weight loss effort to succeed. You will have to prepare yourself and make sure that a healthy meal is waiting at home, or take your healthy meal with you to work. Then you will be much less tempted to snack in an unhealthy way.
Therefore, think carefully about how much time you have or want to make to prepare healthy food for yourself. Above all, be realistic. If you don't have time to prepare healthy food, all diet programs that take a lot of time will be dropped. Then opt for something simple or for a complete program including healthy meals that have already been prepared by someone else.
4. Do you have an environment that encourages you to lose weight?
Very important to think about before going on a diet is the support from the environment you get to actually make a diet successful. Do you want your partner to support you or your friends? Or do you want to look outside your familiar environment and do you want a companion with whom you can share everything about your diet?
Some diet programs include a membership including an online community where you can find fellow sufferers. There are also real diet clubs that meet monthly for weigh-ins. That way you can get to know a lot of people who are in the same boat.
It is all possible. But maybe that's not what you want at all. It is important that you think about this and include it in your consideration of choosing a particular diet.
5. What have you tried in the past that didn't work?
Make a list of all the diets you've tried in the past. Write the reason why each diet failed. Bundle the reasons and see which parts you find important in a diet to make weight loss a success. Were you always hungry? Were the portions too small? Shouldn't you have sugar? Didn't have enough motivation? Think about this really carefully. What does it take to make it work for you?
Action
Start now and make an action plan. Write it all out. Do not be influenced by all advertising and marketing actions, but choose for yourself. Every diet works in the short term, but if you want to lose weight permanently, choose something that really suits you. Only then will it be a success!
This is a guest blog by Anita Mulderij on behalf of Jasper Alblas.
