If You Have Ever Tried To Diet And Failed - Read This!

So - why another web page about being on a diet?

Your body is a structure of amazing complexity that runs for years or even decades without maintenance. But we take it for granted - we abuse it with food, alcohol, drugs, and extreme lifestyles and then wonder why it breaks down.

Don't you think that we should look after ourselves so that we can enjoy this magnificent body for as long as possible?

Should we really follow strict diets that don't provide adequate nourishment?

We wouldn't treat our cars the way we misuse our bodies!

One of the major causes of ill health today is being overweight - often it can lead to serious illness such as heart disease, respiratory disease, diabetes, gallstones, and raised blood pressure etc. Yet it is possible to change our eating habits quite easily. You don't have to be a martyr, hardly eating, trying each "fad" diet as soon as it is published.

The truth is -

These fad diets don't work!

Yes, you can lose weight on this crash diet or that special diet, but eventually we ignore the diet and start eating our regular food again and the weight returns. We spend millions each year on diet books, classes, and audiotapes, videotapes and special foods that are supposed to transform us into super slim creatures without any surplus weight.

And that's not all...

The startling reality is that a staggering 90% of weight lost on a diet is regained within two years - often with some additional pounds as well.

So what can we do?

We can change our attitude to food - we can eat to live and NOT live to eat!

We can change our thinking so that we are in control of our food intake. Forget the word " diet " - you are just changing your eating habits FOREVER.

Why? Because a low calorie diet followed by a return to poor eating habits or over eating causes weight to yo-yo.

This can be dangerous to your health!

Yes it's true! - following a diet may not be good for you!

The fact is you don't need to slavishly follow a strict diet to lose weight. All you need is a guideline to the proportion of different foods you need to eat, and some strategies to help you cope until your new eating habits are part of your lifestyle.

To stay healthy we need a variety that no single food can supply. Different foods provide different proportions of the essentials. So we should try to eat many different foods to ensure that we obtain the nourishment we need. Healthy eating should not be tiresome or expensive. What's more - food should be fun!

General Guidelines for Losing Weight

There are five main groups of valuable foods which we should try to eat :

Fruit and Vegetables - You should choose a wide variety each day and try to eat fruit or vegetables at every meal. Fruit and vegetables provide valuable vitamins, minerals and fibre, with little fat. Don't stick to "greens" - sweetcorn, bananas and fruit juice are just as acceptable.

Cereals, Bread, Potatoes and Pasta - These should make up the largest proportion of your food intake. These starchy foods also provide vitamins, protein, fibre, and minerals with little fat. As long as you don't add too much fat or sugar to them they are not high in calories.

Meat, Fish and Vegetarian Alternatives - All fish, lean meat, beans, peas, and lentils can be eaten freely BUT remember you don't need huge amounts. Be very sparing with the fattier meats and nuts.

Milk and Dairy Produce - These foods are rich in calcium for strong bones. Please note that the low fat varieties have just as much calcium, protein and B vitamins. Again only moderate amounts of low- fat milk and remember to choose lower fat products whenever you can.

Fat and Sugary Foods - You can still enjoy BUT not too often!

Your Strategies for Coping