How to Find the Diet Plan that is Right for You

Vigorously exercising everyday is a great way to stay in shape but that’s only half the battle. Maintaining a proper diet to go along with your exercise routine allows you to lose weight in an effective manner. However, there is always that one lingering question. With so many diet plans to choose from all around you, how would you know if any of them work? More so, how would you pick the right one for yourself? There are some that project being able to help you burn fats and lose weight fast. Others claim that you need to consistently maintain the plan for a long period of time in order for it to work. In all honesty, it depends mainly on you and your body. In the meantime, below are ways you can figure out which diet plan is best for you.

Tip #1: Explore the more sustainable diet plans

The biggest killer in maintaining a diet is doing one that cannot be done in the long term. What is meant by this? Well, dieting is not so much of a plan but rather a lifestyle change you should adhere to for a very long period of time, and most of the time, for the rest of your life. Don’t go overboard thinking that if you do this diet once, you’ll be fit in no time. It doesn’t work like that. Diets are meant to be healthy and starving yourself isn’t healthy.

Tip #2: Check out its flexibility

You’ve got to reward yourself once in a while, right? Look for diets that allow for the occasional cheat meal in the plan. It may sound a little counterintuitive but you’ll probably be only doing this a couple times a month or so. Rewarding yourself for you own progress can help keep you motivated through your weight loss journey. In fact, since you’re only going to be having a cheat meal once in a while, it would taste all the better so it is really to your utmost advantage.

Tip #3: Observe how you can adapt to proper food portioning

You have to acclimate your body gradually to the portions you’ll be eating. You can just start out by eating small. If you’re used to eating big meals, try to eat meals with smaller portions until you get used to it. After that, make the portion smaller and smaller until you have the preferred portion size you’re willing to stick with. The purpose of this is to help progress and acclimate you slowly but surely to the changing sizes so that you don’t become hungry just as quick. If you start eating small now, you’ll just get hungry and might be tempted to start eating more than you normally would.

Tip #4: Get to the nitty-gritty budget details

Some diets can be inherently expensive like buying imported foods or using dietary supplements that can go for hundreds of dollars. Go for diets that fit within your budget so that you’ll be able to maintain it for a long time. Try buying fruits and vegetables that are in season as those can go for cheap in the markets. Also, you should always cook your own food whenever possible as to be able to control the portions you get.

Tip #5: Test out the vibes

This one may be obvious to some but not to others. Some people believe that you don’t have to like the food you eat because it will help you get fit. If you want your diet to be there for the long term, you’re going to have to make sure you like it. There are different diets you can choose from such as carnivore diets to vegetarian diets and paleo diets. These are some of the many diets you can choose from that will allow you to get you on track to be a fitter and better you.

What are some types of diets you can do?

There are multiple diet options one can do to help get fit and slim. Although it’s best to do your own research and personalize your own plan, here are some types of diets you can follow and modify to suit your needs.

Mediterranean Diet

A Mediterranean Diet is a diet that is based off of traditional cuisines of countries that border the Mediterranean Sea. It uses whole grains, vegetables, fruits, nuts, herbs, spices and seeds as the cornerstone of its diet. Of course, you can also modify it with a bit of meat to give you that protein. Even then, a Mediterranean diet is such a broad example as there’s a lot of countries that border the Mediterranean with dishes and foods that you can follow. Take Spain for example, for breakfast, they eat toasted bread, soft cheese and freshly squeezed fruit juice. In Syria, they use pickles, radishes and chickpeas as part of their morning diet. You can mix and match them to suit your preferences and needs.

Intermittent Fasting

This is a diet where you eat normally for a limited amount of time and fast during the rest of the time. This is not recommended for beginners or people with certain medical conditions. If you wish to try intermittent fasting, consult your dietician first. There are many ways to do intermittent fasting. There’s the 16 hours fast, 18 hours fast or the Warrior diet. The 16 and 18 hours fast are self-explanatory. You just need to fast for those times and then eat after those times are up. This is considered excellent for those beginning to intermittent fasts. The Warrior’s diet is only for those who are truly committed to intermittent fasting. It is a 20 hour fast with only a 4 hour eating period. However, these three aren’t the only types of fasting you can do. You can always modify the hours to best suit your particular lifestyle and your nutritional needs.

Ketogenic Diet

Ketogenic Diets are one of the most popular types of diets to date. It’s simply a diet that eliminates carbs from the food you eat. The reason why is that the diet is trying to get your body in a state of Ketosis, hence the name. Ketones come from your liver breaking down fat due to a lack of energy coming from your carbs. Meanwhile, unused energy that come from carbs and sugars turn into fat. Ketones are also used as energy but they don’t go back to becoming fat for any unused ketones. Instead, they are either used by the body’s involuntary parts or urinated out. However, Keto diets cannot be as modified as much due to you having to eat specific things to help keep your carbs as low as possible.

What are the core rules to follow when dieting?

No matter what diet you’re going for, there are some key rules you have to follow if you want to be successful. Although it isn’t universal, you should at least take note of these rules when performing your diet and then simply customize them to suit your particular preferences.

Rule #1: Keep your foods varied

Although not every diet plan can be flexible in what you can and cannot eat, it’s best to be able to eat a variety of foods. This is so that it won’t become too monotonous and you start to hate your diet. Again, as a reminder, your diet should be sustainable and keeping your meals varied is a good way to make it sustainable for a very long time.

Rule #2: Drink plenty of water

Water is a good appetite suppressant as it can help you fill the empty space in your stomach. Not only that, but hydration is incredibly important when you do your exercise routine. It helps the body flush out toxins, regulates body temperature and promotes weight loss. Don’t go around spending money on energy drinks because those contain sugars that will add to your weight instead of losing it. Besides, water is free anyways so what do you have to lose?

Rule #3: Never Skip Breakfast

As they say, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Why is that? It’s because you need the energy to go about the rest of your day. Think about it. After dinner, what do you do? Do you watch TV? Do you prepare for bed? At night, you barely do much so dinner isn’t as important. With breakfast on the other hand, you do so many things after you’ve eaten your breakfast such as going to work, working out, meeting with friends and so on and so forth. All of those activities require energy. Without a good breakfast, you’ll be out of energy before you even know it.

These are the tips and tricks to help you find the right diet for you as well as some guidelines to help you on your journey to become a better and healthier you. Stay consistent and always do your best.

Also, with BODi you will have access to 2 awesome meal planning options. Portion Fix and 2B Mindset.