10 Tips to Improve Weight Loss on any Diet

There are many different diets that you can try to lose weight. There are diets that require you to eat specific foods, diets that demand that you exercise a certain amount and diets that are a bit more flexible. Each diet has its own set of rules. However, there are some rules that you can follow regardless of which diet you are on. These tips can help you to lose weight on any diet.

1.     Drink water. Water is good for you. It’s healthy. It makes you feel better. It cleans out your system. Every single diet is a better diet if it involves drinking a healthy amount of water. Ideally, you will want to replace all other liquids that you drink with water. This will drastically cut down on calories, sugar and caffeine for many people. This goal fits in with nearly all diets. However, even if you do continue to drink other liquids as well, increasing your water intake is going to be beneficial to you as you try to lose weight.

2.     Get support for your efforts. One of the biggest problems for people who are trying to lose weight is that they feel like they’re struggling to do it all on their own. If you get support from others for your efforts then you are more likely to set and meet your weight loss goals. You might get support from an exercise buddy, a friend who is a great listener or a professional who is hired to assist you in meeting your goals. Ideally, you will get support from everyone in your life so that you feel more motivated and encouraged about losing weight. Even just one supportive person in your life can make the process a whole lot better, though.

3.     Set goals. Ultimately for nearly anything in life to work you need to know what you’re doing. You need to set specific measurable goals so that you can see whether or not you’re doing what you need to do. In terms of a diet, you may want to lose a specific amount of pounds or you may want to cut back your food intake by a certain number of calories per day. Make sure that you set clear goals. Write them down. Set small goals that lead up to the big goals. Track your success. This approach makes it more likely that you will succeed on any diet. Of course, on some diets, the plan is so strict that the goals are set for you but it’s good to write down what they are anyway just so that you are clear.

4.     Make a commitment to these goals in writing. Don’t just set out what the goals are. Also make a commitment to keeping to your weight loss plan. Perform a ritual that is meaningful to you to solidify your commitment to losing weight.

5.     Know what you are eating. There are many different rules to follow about what you can and can’t eat on different diets. Ultimately, however, it is most important that you know what it is that you are consuming. A diet may require you to eat protein-rich foods. However, there are some forms of protein that are healthier than others. Researching the nutrition, calorie and ingredient information for all of the foods that you eat will help you make smarter food choices as you continue to lose weight.

6.     Exercise more, eat less. Yes, there are many different diets out there that take different approaches to helping you lose weight. However, this whole thing really boils down to some very common sense. Regardless of the specifics, what you need to do is to burn more calories and consume fewer calories. Any diet that you are on is going to allow you to lose more weight if you are exercising more than you used to and eating fewer calories than you used to.

7.     Figure out what inspires you and do it. You need to do something every single day that will help to inspire your desire to lose weight. For some people, inspiration comes from taping pictures of fat people to their refrigerators. For other people, writing affirmations is inspirational. Still other people find that reading weight loss blogs is useful to them. Explore different options to find out what inspires you to keep losing weight and then do that thing daily.

8.     Expect to reach a plateau. The plateau is what happens a little while into a successful weight loss plan. You’ve been doing so well at losing weight and then it just tapers off. You don’t gain but you don’t lose either. Many people give up at this point. Regardless of which diet you try, your body is going to adjust to it and this plateau is going to happen. Expecting it and knowing that you’ll get past it will make dealing with it a whole lot easier.

9.     Prepare in advance for the holidays. People’s diets and exercise routines often go haywire during vacations and holidays. Prepare in advance for this. First, try to come up with meal ideas that provide good alternatives to the usual fare. It’s perfectly appropriate to bring your own dish along when invited to dinner and share it with others. Also prepare by being aware that you may not stick perfectly to your weight loss goals at this time of year but plan to do your best and not let it be a time for major slides.

10. Be kind to yourself. A major reason that weight loss fails is because people allow their setbacks to end their diets. You aren’t perfect. Sometimes you will eat that extra piece of cake. Sometimes you will be too lazy to exercise. You shouldn’t go too easy on yourself but don’t beat yourself up for these things either. Just get back on that bike and keep on riding off the pounds!