We all have dieting stories of some kind and mine begins with the birth of my first child where I found I had very little dieting success in losing the baby fat from my previously slim body. Working with lots of women and having worked in the beauty industry for several years there isn't a diet story I haven't heard. My work colleagues, friends and myself seem to be constantly on some form of fad diet or low carb diet plan. At the end of this article is my diet plan and how to lose weight in a natural, healthy way without sticking to a rigid fad diet.

You must read this as it is simple, easy and a common sense approch to weight loss. From replacement meals to low carb diets, we have done them all. My very first diet was on the slim fast diet plan. It involves the usual shakes and bars which very similar to lots of other supplement diets. Whilst they work very well in the beginning we tend to get fed up after several weeks and the weight comes straight back on.

I liked slim fast but found it all rather boring and hard work, and I also feel you need to be in the right mindset to have half a chance of success. I want you to tell my readers about your dieting stories and I have included some fantastic video clips on before and after pictures from successful diets from normal people and celebrities.

My first diet didn't work out to well and from then on in I tried everything from swimming to aerobics classes. As most of us tend to do I just gave up trying and plodded along for several years not really feeling happy, and after having two more children felt it was almost helpless to keep trying. I have tried cutting out cakes, bread, sugars, cookies and potatoes and actually did very well for a while until, yes you guessed it my diet story failed yet again.

My friends have had dieting success on Cambridge and slimming world. Two of my friends are on a different diet each. One is on the Cambridge diet and doing very well. She is not normally good with dieting but I think she has found one that actually suits her, and I am left thinking how am I going to lose this excess weight.

The second is on Slimming world and again she has lost 14 pounds in a month, and along with exercise is doing great. So I have come to the conclusion that maybe we need to find the one diet that works for us. It may not be like your friends dieting success stories but one that will work for us as individuals. I think we put more pressure on our selves to succeed when in competition against our friends.

I also feel we need to get in the right mindset first and these dieting stories are really designed to give us all a boost and a little push forwards in starting a new diet solely for us and no one else. I am determined to try something new that I have never tried before and at long last find a diet that suits me. How can I lose weight if I don't believe in the diet plan I am on.

• I had a look at the Evante diet and think I might give this one a try as it sound easy and maybe my miracle dieting success story. I will let you all know how I get on with this, but for now I think you and I both need a pep talk so here goes.
  

OK pep talk needed so as not to stress ourselves out on our new diet. I am starting mine tomorrow and i'm determined to succeed as I have a holiday in one month and would like to lose a realistic 14 pounds. I am not going to tell any of my friends and family as I think by doing this we put added pressure on ourselves to succeed. So I am thinking if I have no one watching everything I eat will not leave me feeling such a failure when I slip up.

We should all set out what diet we are doing and have a reserve stash of healthy fruit and veg and hide all the cakes, biscuits etc. Mindset is the key and hyping oneself up for the long challenge ahead. We can do this if we help each other and give advice and help on the best diet plans. I would love to hear your dieting tips and dieting stories to add to this article and see if all of us can diet together. Let me know which diet you are doing and how things are going as I am sure all my readers would be very interested in your dieting success stories.

I think the best way to diet is getting yourself first in the correct mindset. We often start dieting when we are at a low ebb and feeling sorry for the way we look. Also we always try to start a new diet around the holiday seasons adding extra pressure to an already tough time. Diets do not always suit everyone and I find if I am feeling strong and good about life I can cut back on my portion size much better than when I am feeling low.

Write a list of all the foods that you love but you know are not good for and try your hardest to not eat any of them for a week. By the side of each item of food you have listed, replace it with a healthy option and you will see by the end of your first week you would have weened yourself off. On the second week start to cut down your portion sizes and listen to your body when it tells you that you have had enough. Always remember do not eat for the sake of it. We all do this and need to have something we can do when we get the urge.

Take a bath with some nice scented candles and place a bowl of fruit on the side of the bath as this will stop you from gorging on the fatty bad foods. The trick being that once you are in the bath you will not be able to raid the fridge. Drink lots of water during the day and stay hydrated as this can sometimes lead to you feeling hungry when in fact you are actually thirsty.

After your first week of dieting get on the scales and see the nice surprise, but if you have not been so good then just ignore how much you weigh and carry on as if you are just starting your first week. You will know when the scales are going to be pleasing to your eye. This ends the lesson on my dieting success story and the diet I am following myself at the moment.