Everyone has their own problems sticking to a diet. When I asked what some of those obstacles were, here are some of the more common answers I got:

* Resisting foods that simply taste great in my mouth lol. i.e. chips…. (are a big guilty pleasure for me)

* I think I only overcome that when I really choose to though… I usually give in when I feel like I haven’t eaten them for ages, and that’s when I truly INDULGE (in every sense of the word).

* But overall, I think I’ve overcome it. A tip is to just stay clear of those foods altogether, and have the willpower to resist walking over and buying/taking the specific food out of the cupboard.

* My biggest obstacle was eating properly.

* Motivation!!! you really gotta be motivated, try friends to exercise with.

*My biggest obstacle is always sweets. I love them, especially chocolate. They way I get around it is by still allowing myself a little treat. I usually will try things that are sugar free or much smaller so I don’t consume too many calories. I have found if I try to take it away I end up going crazy and eating a bunch.

*Soda and snacks. I have now overcome the soda but the chocolate and the chips i still crave very much. I guess its Mind over matter if you want to gain control!! Food can be an addiction!! WILL POWER!!

*Staying the course even when there is no visible progress.

* And the fact that healthy and weight are always thrown together like one determines the other. I think that is my biggest challenge. Does weight determine health? Is this answer a fat girl passive aggressive answer or is there some truth to it.

* I don’t like to struggle in life and I don’t think being healthy is a hard thing. I do think struggling to be a “target weight’ set on some random chart should be the driving factor to keep people buying is immoral.

* Chocolate. I can’t have it in my house. Everything else I’m o.k. going without but chocolate is my obsession. As long as I don’t see it, I will not think about it.

I can really relate to a lot of these!

Here are some links to more information:

Men’s Health

Eurekalert

WebMD

Everyone would like to lose weight quickly and a lot of the diets on the market claim to help you lose weight quickly, but are all of them safe? The evidence shows that the majority of these quick fixes and fad diets do not last and are usually a temporary solution.

Before you decide to begin any type of diet, there are dieting principles that you should consider. Here are some of the principles of losing weight in a safe manner that should be used to evaluate a potential diet plan.

* With a safe diet you should not lose more than one pound per day. Losing too much weight too quickly can lead to health issues.

* A diet should not call for you to starve yourself throughout the day. Although you are consuming calories by eating, calories are a part of our body’s makeup and are therefore required in order to function properly. The truth is that when you choose to starve yourself, you are actually actively slowing down your metabolism and therefore making it that much harder to lose weight.

* What makes fad diets unhealthy and difficult to follow in the long term is the fact that they usually require you to eat one type of food. Ensure that the diet you are considering calls for you to eat a balanced diet, or multiple types of food, throughout the diet plan.

* A diet should call for some sort of exercising in conjunction with an eating plan. Exercise is an excellent way to burn off excess calories and should become part of your long term maintenance plan.

Today people are becoming more and more aware of their health and how they have been taking advantage of it in the past. As a dieter if you have never thought of or considered the above dieting principles before, now is the time. Instead of focusing your attention on these types of quick temporary fixes, you may want to consider a new lifestyle change that makes dieting easier in order to find life long success with your weight and overall health.

A safe diet plan should be something that you can maintain and stick with for life. If you cannot do this, then you are probably focusing your attention on temporary diet solution, which in the long run can hurt your metabolism and inhibit your weight loss for good.

Here are some links to additional information:

Tips for losing weight

Dietary Guidelines: Build a Healthy Base

Weight Loss