Ditch the fad diet regimes!

Been talking to lots of people about eating habits and have been asked to put something up on here so thought I would.

The thing with diets is that they imply "time bound period". Wouldn't it just be a better idea to eat smarter?

I've worked with lots of people now who have changed their patterns of eating as well as what they eat, lost weight and become goal weight maintainable. Now I'm no nutrition expert and there are lots of people out there better qualified I'm sure but here are seven pointers to get you started.

1. Remember that nobody else lives your precise life, faces your challenges, has your biochemistry or anatomical pattern, has your injury history, or your calendar, or your family or boss. So you are an experiment of one and an off the shelf diet plan isn't going to work. Ditch the word diet and get realistic. Be you.

2. Keep a food diary for over a week including when you ate and be honest. Studies have proven that this helps enormously.

3. Test your hunger if you think you're hungry. Have an apple. In my experience if you crave a specific item you're probably bored and looking for relief from something else.

4. Get out more and run/walk trails. Studies have shown that people who spend time in natural environments have reported better moods than those in urban environments. More vitality and lower levels of cortisol helps enormously with food habits.

5. If your eating and exercise habits leave you with a feeling that you are deprived, I can guarantee any weight loss you may see will be unsustainable. Change something.

6. Ignore the fitness industry imagery. It's not realistic and believe me nobody is perfect. Just try to be better than you were yesterday and do that everyday.

7. Celebrate your success with non food related rewards. Get a massage. Just do something.

Look after your body.