Actually it’s not to me, it’s a no brainer, diets don’t work in the long term, they are a short term fix that often lead to regaining the weight and more!

Diets are temporary which means that they must end at some point, usually when you have lost the weight but what happens afterwards is that you return to your previous bad habits and put the weight and more back on!

They are normally too restrictive which makes it very difficult to stick to because people are always looking for a quick fix and want instant results. How many times do you hear people say that they need to lose weight for an upcoming event such as a wedding or a holiday? How about changing the thinking and wanting to get healthier, fitter and in better shape for life not just for an occasion or a summer holiday!

We all need to find a way to achieve sustainable weight loss and maintenance and that is not through dieting, it’s through establishing a healthy eating plan that works for the individual and as we are all different, it’s not a one size fits all approach!

Here are some options that you may like to try, the first one works well for me personally as I work out every morning and cannot have anything in my stomach while exercising but this may not suit some as I know plenty of people that need to have something to eat before exercising or they feel sick or lightheaded!

The 16/8 plan

This plan involves fasting overnight for 16 hours and eating in an 8 hour window so if you had your last meal at 7pm then you wouldn’t eat again until 11am the next day and you’d stop eating at 7pm.

This will only work if you don’t stuff your face in the 8 hour window! Generally speaking it means cutting down on one meal a day which is obviously going to reduce your overall daily calories.

Avoid snacking if possible and eat 2 healthy nutritious meals.

The 5/2 plan

This plan involves eating normally for 5 days and then eating 500 calories on 2 days not consecutively.

Again only works if you don’t stuff your face in the 5 days! Choose the 2 days wisely as 500 calories is not a lot and you don’t want to be doing tons of exercise on those days.

3 meals a day

This is just a healthy eating plan focusing on good quality food and plenty of vegetables with moderate amounts of protein and smaller amounts of starchy carbohydrates.

The key is to eat enough at mealtimes so that you don’t feel the need to snack in between meals which will sabotage your weight loss efforts.

All of the above plans involve eating the right kinds of food so make sure that you eat good quality protein, a variety of vegetables and healthy carbs such as brown rice and sweet potatoes.

Avoid processed foods that aren’t satisfying or nutritious and are easy to overeat!

Drink plenty of water including a glass before each mealtime as this will help keep you satiated.

L xx