How to Stick to Your Diet

One of the worst errors people make when dieting is skipping meals. There are many reasons why people choose to do this when they are dieting, whether it is too late in the day, there was not healthy food available, or there just wasn't time in the day for a nutritious meal.

One thing that many people do not understand is that diets and meal plans are set up to retrain your body how to consume food. Your body develops patterns in response to your eating habits. When you eat large meals and do not snack in between or you skip meals your body goes into survival mode. This means when you do eat the body stores food energy as fat in preparation for lengthy periods where you do not eat. Long periods without consuming food also slows down your metabolism.

By eating smaller 3 smaller meals a day and eating snacks in-between meals consistently you are telling your body that it is always going to be provided with more energy and there is not need to store fat. Punishing yourself for binging by fasting is one of the worst things you can do but it is a common mistake. Choose healthy foods and tailor you meal plan to your specific caloric requirements. It is important to base you diet according to your weight, height, and build using a BMR calculator. Your BMR is your basic metabolic rate when you are at rest (basically the amount of energy you burn daily just to live, it does not include any calories burned due to physical activity. Use the calculator on this website http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/ or use the equation below:

Women: BMR = 655 + ( 4.35 x weight in pounds ) + ( 4.7 x height in inches ) - ( 4.7 x age in years )

Men: BMR = 66 + ( 6.23 x weight in pounds ) + ( 12.7 x height in inches ) - ( 6.8 x age in year )

http://www.bmi-calculator.net/bmr-calculator/bmr-formula.php

Use your BMR to calculate a calorie count for your meals and snacks. My BMR is 1200 calories so I usually eat meals that are between 250 and 300 calories with snacks that are approximately 150 calories, but I am a very small person. You need to adapt meal plans for your personal body type. If you use a meal plan that is too low on calories for your body type you may find that your body won't let go of those extra pounds and your metabolism will slow you down making you feel sluggish.

Break down your daily caloric needs so your meals contain double the amount of calories in your snacks. Take a second look at how I break down my caloric intake into meals and snacks. You can make you own meal plan you just need to commit to it. If you calculate your BMR I would be more than happy to help you design a meal plan for free that is customized for your daily needs! I just want people to lose weight without compromising their health.