I see it everywhere.  

Business companies, politicians, religious leaders,
and people of all ages, and walks of life,
all saying that they "want to be different", to stand out from the crowd.

Be to be UNIQUE, yet, at the same time,
be similar enough to others,
to be able to fit in with others. 
Quite a dilemma, but this video has an answer.  
 

Dieting is hard work.
Those who say otherwise,
either haven't actually done much dieting,
or are telling lies to sell something.

You can call it a food or eating plan,
balancing your nutritional needs,
a reducing program, or a lifestyle change,
but whatever you call it,
if it involves changing the way you eat,
.............it's a diet.

The very idea of beginning a diet
is enough to depress many people,
and set them off on an eating spree.

 But, dieting can give a sense of control and success.
Not every reducing idea will appeal to everyone,
and using a variation of dieting concepts that DO help,
is a good idea.

Something that might have been a terrific idea last week,
might not help me battle the temptation of potato chips tonight.
The goal is to learn how to live with food and be in control of what one eats,
not to eliminate food from our lives entirely.

A widespread unconscious habit among dieters
is to forget some of what we have eaten.

The way to make oneself more aware of one's eating habits
is to write down what you eat, maybe even when you eat it.

Carry a notebook and pen with you, and each time
you put anything into your mouth, write it down..
Even if it's only a stick of sugarless gun, or a peanut.

The "secret" of my own weight-loss and maintenance success
is my daily habit of writing down all my food in a software food journal.
There are many of these available.
My own favorite is called "DietPower",
and you'll find links to it here on DietHobby. 

On my YouTube DietHobby channel,
I frequently get messages like this: 

Grandma,
I need to lose weight fast, please help,
what should I eat and not eat. 

Here is an example of my reply:

My website, at www.diethobby.com is where you should go

for information about dieting and weight loss.

That is the way I can give people information

without saying the same thing over and over. 

But I do have a little bit of time right now,

so you can start with this information,

and then for more information go there. 

Almost no one loses fat pounds fast. 

During the first two weeks of sticking to a diet,

most people lose about 5 to 7 lbs, but most of that is because

a person has less water and waste in their body. 

After a couple of weeks their body stops losing weight

until their water/waste issues readjust,

that is when most people quit their diet.

When they quit that water/waste weight returns immediately. 

If they stay with it, then eventually they will lose

an average of about 1 to 2 lbs of fat lbs per week. 

In order to lose weight, how much you eat

is much more important than what you eat. 

Food provides energy for the body.

The energy in that food is measured

by the number of calories in it.

In order for your body to lose weight,

it must take in less energy than the body uses. 

Almost all diets say to avoid foods that are fried

(like french fries, potato chips etc),

or high fat (like butter, salad dressings, oils, cream, cheese),

and foods made with sugar (candy, cake, pie, cookies)

and white flour  (bread, crackers plus cake cookies biscuits.).

and to eat only small amounts of carbs

(oats, wheat, grains, rice, potatoes, corn, beans) 

This is because these are the foods that have

a lot of calories packed into a small amount of food. 

Most diets also say to eat mostly lean meats, eggs,

green leafy vegetables, and vegetables like green beans,

brocolli, cauliflour, carrots, mushrooms, tomatoes.

This is because these are the foods that have lots of nutrients

but less calories and so people can have larger amounts of these foods. 

Personally, I think the best diet is a diet that a person can live with

and stay on forever.  If you want to know what, and how much that I eat,

watch my cooking videos. These can give you ideas

of what and how much to eat if you want to lose weight. 

Most people do better by limiting the times they eat also

...like eating only 3 meals a day without snacking,,,

or no more than 1 very small snack between each of those meals.

If you are going to have a meal consisting of things

like a hamburger and french fries and a soda,

then you would buy one hamburger and eat only about half of it,

and eat only about 10 of your french fries,

(give away or throw away the rest) and drink a diet soda.

These are very general ideas about dieting.

For specific ideas, read the information at my DietHobby website. 

   Dreams and dedication IS a powerful combination.
Successful weight-loss and maintenance of that weight-loss
takes both of these elements.

If one didn't have the dream,
there would be no incentive or motivation to make it happen.
If one doesn't have the dedication,
one won't follow through with the effort that it takes to make it happen.

  And, make no mistake, a Great Deal of Effort is needed. 
Marketing interests that tell you different are lying to you. 
Yes, they are allowed to do that. 

For those of you who are following my “Ask Grandma” video series
Click : “Getting Along With Parents" to see my latest video,
which is located in DietHobby under RESOURCES, Videos, Ask Grandma.

A Diet isn't something we go on and off of.
About 95% of dieters regain the weight they lose.
And, in many cases, the dieter will yo-yo to a heavier weight
than what they were when they started the diet.

For a diet to be effective,
it has to involve a lifestyle change
– a way to eat and live that we can stick with.

A diet is not something we go on,
then go off after we've dropped a few pounds.
The definition of diet is simply ....
........“the usual food and drink of a person or animal.”
So to lose weight and keep it off we need to
consume food and drink that promotes health, not deprivation.

Pick a lifestyle you can see yourself still following
and enjoying when you are 80.

It's All About the Calories
The list of diets goes on and on.
But recent studies have proved
that it really doesn't matter what type of diet we follow.
Pick the one that appeals most to you – the one you can stick with for life –
because the bottom line is all about reducing calories
and burning more calories than consumed!

The simple secret to effective weight loss:
Eating fewer calories than one burns.

An effective weight maintenance plan then is
eating the same number of calories that one burns
through normal body functions and exercise.

Slips are Going to Happen
Trying to remain perfect while following a diet
is setting ourselves up for failure.
We didn't gain our extra weight overnight
and we aren't going to lose it quickly either.
There will be slips on our way to a healthier weight.
Don't ever quit!

Rather than quit when a binge happens,
we need to pick ourselves up, dust off the crumbs
and climb back on the dieting wagon.

We're in this for the long haul.
Being “good” and following a healthy lifestyle
the majority of the time should be our goal.

There will always be temptation,
so we must learn to give ourselves a few guilt-free passes
for those occasions when we eat more than we should.