Saturday, December 1, 2007

Planning Your Diet

We have plans for everything these days. That is how we can fit 100 different things into each day. While to an extent this seems a bit over doing it, some things do need to be planned. I don't know why we don't plan our diets. I mean, we plan everything else. Some people even plan on when they will have sex. Why not spend a few minutes and plan out what you will eat? If you are reading this, you have the time so. So sit back and follow these seven easy steps. Don't blink, if you do it will be over. It is really that simple.



1. Mini meals are great

They tell people with certain disease that they should eat several small meals each day. They say that a person should eat something every two hours. Well, that isn't too impossible to do. I would suggest that you start out every four hours. Keep it like you normally would any of your other meals. Make sure you have your protein and your fiber. Have some veggies and some fruit to balance everything out. Don't make your mini meal a bucket of fried chicken. I know that since it is a mini meal, the temptation doesn't seem as great. I mean, if you only slip up in a mini meal, who is watching? These are a great way to avoid hunger and improper snacking throughout the day. Just make your mini meals up and eat them every time that you have planned. If you plan on eating every two hours, every two hours it is. It doesn't take a road map to figure this out.

2. Don't go over board

This is easier said than done. You need to have a specific amount that you are trying to reduce. If you are trying to reduce your meals by 10%, then you should stick to that. I'm not suggesting that you break out the calculator and count up every meal that you have. If you have been on a diet for very long, you already have a good idea how many calories things have. Don't eat with your eyes, eat with your mind. That will help you cut down on the amount of food that you eat.

3. Eat good tasting food

From time to time let yourself go. Eat something that you know you shouldn't. If you get it out of your system, it will be easier to maintain your diet. If on the other hand you don't allow yourself to eat things you shouldn't from time to time, all you will do is hurt yourself in the long run. You are going to nibble each day on those things instead of just eating them occasionally.


4. Eat your calories don't drink them

Don't fill up on sodas and other drinks. You can get all your calories for one day in these if you do it too much. A few sodas here, A few cups of hot chocolate there. You get the point. That will put on the pounds easily.



5. Exercise

You need to do this to keep fit. Not only will it keep you fit, but it will keep you mentally sharp as well. That can go a long way in helping you stick to a diet. If you are depressed, chances are you will end up eating fatty foods that will make you fat. When you consume all of that fat, it will make you more depressed. It is a bad cycle to start.


6. Make your meals last

Chew your damn food son! I bet you heard that one as a kid. Well, it is true. Don't swallow your food. Instead, eat it slowly and enjoy the taste of it. If you do this, it will make you feel like you have actually eaten something. If you scarf it down, you won't get the same benefit. You will continue to feel a void.


7. Discover your food triggers

We all have these. When was the last time you went grocery shopping and you looked at a bag of cookies and realized that you had to have them? I have done this many times in the past. You need to understand what foods trigger your response system. If you can do this, you can avoid situations that will make you eat things that you shouldn't eat. Well, that wasn't so bad was it? There is no need to flip out when it comes to a diet plan. It is simple and easy. Just like anything in life, you should have a plan before you begin to do whatever it is that you are doing. The same is true with your diet.

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