Looking for the best diet plan? Convinced it doesn’t exist? In a way, you are right. There is no perfect diet plan that is going to allow you to shed weight — without you having to change a thing about your lifestyle. Sorry, Virginia, but there is no Santa Claus and there is no magic weight loss pill.
On the other hand, there are literally hundreds of successful diet plans that can assist you on your journey to Thinsville. But, fair warning, they all require a bit of effort and a ton of commitment on your part. The commitment is actually more important than the effort.
You’ll find that once you have made the decision to do whatever it takes to shed the weight, the actions themselves become much easier. This is because you know, in your heart of hearts, that each action is bringing you closer to your goal weight, so it’s actually easy to make the choices that are aligned with your desire.
So here’s the secret. The best diet plan is the one that you will actually follow. Not the one that looked good on TV but ends up requiring sacrifices you are not willing to make. Or the one that worked great for you friend, but doesn’t fit you own lifestyle. Nope, it’s the one that resonates with you, your weight loss goal and your lifestyle.
Once again, there are hundreds of different ways to reduce your calorie intake and lose weight. And let’s be honest, it all comes down to calories in vs. calories burned. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter so much where those calories came from as it does how many “net” calories you consumed.
Whether you control carbs and gorge on fats, or control fat and gorge on carbs, the net caloric intake is the determining factor in your weight loss success (or failure).
So pick the diet plan that speaks to you. Do you like to cook? Then Weight Watchers may be a great choice because it allows a great deal of flexibility in your eating choices. Hate to cook? Then you may be a good candidate for a plan like Bistro MD, where healthy gourmet meals are delivered to your door — prepared in the exact caloric portions that assist you in losing weight.
Whatever eating plan you choose, it’s important to back it up with accountability. Studies have shown that the most successful dieters are the ones who write down every calorie consumed. This forces the dieter to acknowledge every calorie and causes them to reconsider calories they might otherwise have unconsciously consumed.
There are even some great software programs today that take the accountability factor one step further. These programs help the dieter set a weight goal by a certain target date, and then recommend a daily calorie budget. The dieter then enters information throughout the day, tracking calories, exercise, water consumption and the nutritional intake of all food consumed.
So whichever diet plan you choose, make sure it fits your lifestyle, and make sure you have a method of accountability. It won’t always be easy, but you’ll know that each choice you make is bringing you closer to the day when you can claim “I did it!”