16-Step Diet Plan

Step 1. Say Goodbye to Dieting - Forget all about dieting! The words diet and dieting are getting in your way! They are preventing you from tackling your weight problem. Every time you hear these words you switch off and reach for the cookies. Result? Your weight problem gets worse.

Step 2. Say Hello to healthy Eating - healthy eating sounds so much nicer than dieting. Start using that phrase today.

Step 3. Put Away Your Scales - Weighing scales don't make you lose weight. They just scare you to death. Put them away now! (Actually, don't put them away until you complete Step 5.)

Step 4. Stop Worrying About Your Weight - Why? Worry makes you miserable and makes you feel more of a failure. Result? You are beaten before you start.

Step 5. Take Your Clothes Off and Look at Yourself in the Mirror - Do it tomorrow morning, before breakfast. At the same time, weigh yourself.

Step 6. Start Looking Ahead - Don't worry about how you will look next week. Take a longer-term view like 6 months.

Step 7. For the Next Week Keep a Food Diary - Write down every single thing you eat and when you eat it. Don't waste time cheating. The purpose of this diary is to enable you to see what you actually eat, as opposed to what you think you eat!

Step 8. Create a Healthy Eating Plan for Yourself - Keep it simple:

*Eat regular amounts of these foods:

Fruit, vegetables (fresh/frozen/canned), whole wheat bread, oats, beans and peas, wholegrain cereal.

Guide: Eat a minimum of 5 helpings of fruit & vegetables, per day.

Guide: Eat a minimum of 5 helpings of whole wheat or wholegrain foods, per day.

*Eat regular amounts of these foods:

Skimmed milk, fat-free yogurt, lower-fat cheese.

Guide: Eat a minimum of 3 helpings of lower-fat dairy foods (milk, yogurt) per day.

Guide: Limit yourself to a maximum of 1 small piece of cheese, per day.

*Eat smaller amounts of these protein foods:

Eggs, fish, turkey and chicken.

Guide: Eat no more than 4 eggs a week.

Guide: Red meat, limit yourself to 1 small portion 3 times a week (size of deck of cards).

Guide: Fish, turkey or chicken, you can eat 50% more - but no fat!

*Eat VERY SMALL amounts of these foods:

Oil (except olive oil), butter, margarine, mayonnaise, white flour, refined sugar.

*Drinks

Water, water, water, fruit juices, tea or coffee (but easy on Espressos!)

*Enjoy the occasional:

Pastry, cookie, candy bar/chocolate, bag of popcorn/potato chips/crisps

Guide: 'Occasional' means once a week.

Step 9. Fill Your Refrigerator with Healthy Food - We eat whatever sits in our refrigerator. So empty out the junk food and fill up on foods from Step 8.

Step 10. Learn How to Cheat - Do you hate fruit and vegetables? That's tough. You MUST make friends with fruit and vegetables. Eat at least 5 helpings per day, although more is better. There are no substitutions. However, you can cheat. Here's how:

*Make home made soup. Ideally, add spices, a little lean meat and lots of vegetables.

You won't taste the vegetables.

*Make fresh orange juice

Many people won't eat 3 whole oranges every day. But they will drink the juice!

*Make blended fruit drinks (smoothies)

Guide: Use 1 cup of fresh fruit + 1 cup fruit juice. For extra creaminess add a little fat-free fruit yogurt.

Step 11. Trim That Fat - Get into the habit of trimming all the fat off meat. All means all. This alone will save you thousands of calories AND help you to live longer.

Step 12. Learn How to Snack Healthily - Fruit, cereal and fat-free yogurt are excellent choices, so are thick sandwiches (lots of thick crusty bread, small amount of margarine/spread, lots of lower fat filling.)

Step 13. Be Choosy Where You Dine Out - Frequent dining out (main meal) is one of the biggest reasons why America is so fat. So be choosy!

*Don't enter a fast food restaurant unless it's a SPECIAL treat.

*Limit yourself to one dining out experience, per fortnight.

Step 14. Don't Go Hungry - Never allow yourself to go hungry. Your metabolism will slow down.

Step 15. Be More Active - Set aside 20 minutes a day to exercise and gradually build up to 30 minutes a day. Yes, you may hate it to begin with, but with time, exercise grows on you! Besides, it's worth remembering that exercise leaves you with MORE energy and burns fat.

Step 16. Follow These Simple Steps for 3 Months - By then you should have lost an easy 15-30 pounds. The best thing is: Your eating habits will have improved tremendously. This means you stand an excellent chance of keeping off the weight and getting your weight problem under control for good!