by Jennifer Mann

How can I stick to a diet and more importantly how can i stick to a healthy balanced diet? We all have favourite foods - chocolate, pizza, doughnuts. Unfortunately, these are usually the very foods that are making us fat and therefore the foods we have to cut back on to lose weight. This can be very difficult for some people. Motivation can be hard to grasp especially when it involves something as tasty as chocolate. But hopefully by the end of this article you will be in a better position to find it.

Reward yourself

Dieting can be a joyless experience. Even when you loose a few pounds the happiness doesn't last for long when you are faced with a dinner of rabbit food. However, it doesn't have to be that way. Whenever you meet you weekly targets you should reward yourself in some way. Not only will this make you feel great but it will also act as a valuable incentive to meet your goals in the coming weeks and months. Why not treat yourself to a movie or a trip to a spa. Even better it to buy yourself some clothes. This will greatly intensify your feelings of joy because you are highlighting the very achievement you have made. There are very few things in life as satisfying as going into a shop and realising you have dropped a dress size.

Don't be too strict

Making your diet too strict is usually counter productive. The stricter the diet the more motivation you will need to stick to it. What usually happens is the dieter will follow the regime for a week or two, make herself unhappy, break the diet and go back to what she was eating before. A healthy balanced diet is the key to sustained weight loss. You can still each chocolate and treats but just not as many of them.

Address the reasons why you are breaking your diet

We eat food for many reasons other than hunger. Sometimes we are depressed so it provides a sense of comfort. Sometimes we are bored and it's essentially just something to do. When we are following a diet we are even more susceptible to these feelings than normal. But instead of just eating to make you feel better,address the reasons why you are feeling this way. For instance if you're bored got to the shops or do some housework. Not only will you be sticking to your diet but you will be getting exercise as well.

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