There are hundreds of diet plans out there, including low carb diets. Most of these plans do work (of course, in our opinion, low carb plans work better than others) – provided you can stick to them. The reality is that there are no mysteries about losing weight – ultimately, you just need to consume fewer calories than you expend. We all know that, so the challenge is not figuring out how to do it, but actually doing it!
Weight loss success factors
| Have a precise plan – define your weight-loss plan precisely. Choose a diet and an exercise programme, so that you know exactly what you are supposed to be doing every day. Vague rules like “Eat less” and “Take the stairs whenever you can” are all very well, but unlikely to make any significant differences. |
| Think ahead – this is important, since low-carb diets restrict certain types of food. You don’t want to suddenly find yourself in a situation where you are hungry but the only available food is biscuits and chocolates! Read more about planning ahead. |
| Monitor your progress – you should monitor yourself closely when on a diet, and track everything you eat. If you don’t, it is almost guaranteed that you will underestimate the amount of food and carbohydrates you consume. Read more about monitoring. |
| Have realistic expectations – miracles don’t just happen overnight. Anyone can lose weight, but it is not quick or easy. You will need to put in the effort for a continuous period of time – don’t give up if you don’t see the results after one week. Read my post about weight loss expectations. |
| Develop your willpower – if you think you have no willpower, it may or may not be true, but you can definitely grow and develop it. This is obviously a crucial factor for long-term success! Read more about willpower. |
| Get inspired – keep visualising yourself when you reach your ideal weight. Collect photos of other people who look like you would like to look – see my inspiration selection on Pinterest. |
| Get connected – connect with other people who are trying to lose weight. If there isn’t anyone like that in your real life, it is easy to find like-minded people on social networks like Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest (I’d be thrilled if you follow me – I am on Twitter and Pinterest). |
| Enter into a contract – there are services that will setup a contract with you and you will have to donate money to charity (or anti-charity) if you fail to meet your goals – check out Stickk.com. This is obviously quite extreme but works quite well – they have 84% success rate. |
| Believe in yourself – Have faith in yourself and never give up – and good things will start to happen! |
Can you think of any other useful tips that helped you lose weight? Please post them in the comments.
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