Visit any discussion forum on the internet for those wanting to lose weight, and you will find an astonishing number of people searching for which the "best" diet is to lose weight. Generally they also want to lose it quickly. That's natural and normal.
However the answers these people get are both very muddling and very revealing.
How come?
Well the thing you will find is that nobody agrees with one another. One person will have lost a huge amount of weight on Weight Watchers, another will swear by Rosemary Connelly. And so on. There may be dozens of "best" diets recommended.
And there's a reason for that - there *is* no best diet - just the best diet *for you*.
It's vitally important to understand that fact, so please reread the last line to burn it into your head.
Let's be honest - we all know that basically to lose weight we need to burn fewer calories than we consume. By reducing our calorific intake and/or exercising more we will achieve that.
In theory, therefore, you could create your own diet tonight and it would work and help you lose weight.
Perhaps you'd eat just salads and run for 30 minutes 3 times a week.
That would work, wouldn't it?
Well, yes on a physical, nutritional level.
But perhaps not on a mental level - and that why there is no best diet.
Consider how many foods that are apparently bad for you - can be accommodated by other diets. For example with Weight Watchers you are allowed desserts in moderation. In the Atkins you can eat cheese. Yet people still lose weight on both of those diets.
But there are other differences too. Some diets require no exercise, others moderate and some an aweful lot.
Some require cycling, others running, some walking.
With some you get days off eating healthily, with others you build up "credits" which you can "spend" on treats.
The simple fact of the matter is that we are all different and what appeals to one person may not appeal to others.
The first time I tried the South Beach Diet I lost 7lbs in 7 days - but I disliked the rich food.
In contrast, I loved Body For Life with it's day off each week to eat whatever I liked.
And so it follows that the best diet - for you - is the one you can follow for a long time. Any diet will work over the short term - like my South Beach experiment.
But for long-lasting wieght loss results you need a diet you can stick to - week after week, month after month.
Because while that sounds depressing - when you actually enjoy the diet sticking to it becomes a pleasure not a pain.
So the key is this - try out a variety of diets yourself. Don't let others tell you what to do.
Maybe try a week or two of each one to see which you enjoy the most. Which seems "effortless" to you? Because even if you only lose a pound a week but are having the time of your life, it'll be easier for you to lose weight than if you lost 7lb a week but hated every minute of it!
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Richard Adams writes for the
Reading UK website
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