How to Diet
from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can EditWhen someone "diets" it usually means they are temporarily changing their eating habits in order to reach a goal. Often that goal is losing weight but sometimes it is gaining weight, gaining muscle, or addressing a medical condition. This article will give you some general tips for dieting.
Steps
- Analyze your current eating habits. The best way to do this is to keep a food diary. It's useful to know what you already eat, and when you eat, in order to implement changes.
- Decide which foods you want to eat on your diet. Also decide how much of each food. Many people use calories to decide. Bodybuilders will base their diet on grams of protein, while someone with a medical issue may change their diet to avoid certain ingredients, like MSG.
- Implement change slowly. You are less likely to stick to your diet if you suddenly change everything. You'll probably have cravings for the foods you're used to eating. Here are a few ways to ease into your diet:
- Implement your diet for one or two days a week. As you get used to it, expand to more days per week until you are dieting every day.
- Implement the diet by meals. For example, in the first week stick to your diet for breakfast. The next week, breakfast and lunch. The week after that, breakfast, lunch and dinner.
- End your diet when you have a achieved your goal. Many diets are fine temporarily but may not be healthy over the long run, especially if the diet is extreme in any way. If you are missing any nutrients, your body will suffer later. If you want to make a permanent change to your eating habits, consult with a doctor or nutritionist first.
Tips
- Do not go on medicines or supplements. They have side effects.
Warnings
- Do not overdo and try a harsh diet because you might end up with undesired effects.
Related wikiHows
- How to Lose Weight
- How to Choose the Best Diet
- How to Stick to Your Diet During the Holidays
- How to Eat Healthy
