6 Rules That Make Any Diet

Lose weight and stay slim for life with our easy-to-follow expert tips

- Karen Evennett

You could cut down on calories, go low fat, or reduce your carbs – however you choose to diet, chances are you’ll lose some weight in the short term. But to keep that weight off forever, you need to change the way you think as well as the way you eat. Try these six rules for weight loss that really lasts

RULE 1…

Question Your Motivates

Think hard. What is your reason for wanting to lose weight and keep it off? “Unless you have a goal that you really care about, you’ll lack sufficient motivation to reach it,” says Behaviour Change Psychologist, Dr Aria Campbell-Danesh (dr-aria.com).

TRY List the gains you’ll make from losing weight – and the losses if you don’t. Examples could be enjoying better health and being more active with your family.

RULE 2…

Never say you’re on a diet

Ban the D word from your vocabulary. A diet suggests something with a beginning, middle, and – dangerously – an end. “Don’t think about this as a period of hardship that you have to get through,” says Paul Gibson, a Harley Street weight loss and addiction specialist (www.zoeclews-hypnotherapy. co.uk). “Choose a way of eating that you think is sustainable long term with a good balance of fresh fruit and vegetables, lean protein and wholegrain carbohydrates. “