Choosing Healthy Protein

We know we have to eat protein and for Americans the protein of choice is meat.

Making healthy protein choices is more about the fats that accompany the proteins and the preparation methods than it is about the actual proteins themselves. Look for protein sources that are lower in saturated fats, a little higher in mono and unsaturated fats, and prepared in healthy ways.

Okay, I'm going to spell it out, when you eat protein you're also getting fats and you prepare any meat, you use cooking oil or lard, so I'm not saying that you should stop eating protein, but the kind of protein you eat and the way you prepare meat can increase your risk for heart trouble. Animal fats will clog the arteries that carry blood throughout the body causing bad circulation and that causes heart trouble.

A fish fillet baked with lemon and almonds is an example of a healthy protein choice. Roasting a chicken breast and topping it with salsa would also be another healthy example. Seafood and poultry have different types of fat that are not harmful to the body.

A porterhouse steak is full of protein and tastes delicious, but it is not as healthy as poultry or fish due to all of the saturated fats usually found in red meat.

For most people, it's a good idea to limit red meat consumption to only a couple of meals each month. Processed meats, like lunch meats, are poor sources of protein too, because the fats and ingredients used to make them have been linked to cancer, and some people also worry about hotdogs and brain tumors.

Of course, fish and chicken may not always be healthy. Fried fish sticks or breaded and fried chicken are not good protein choices because this type of cooking adds unhealthy fats and extra calories.

Meats may be cooked on a grill. This method of cooking can be healthy as long as you take care not to char the meat. Use indirect heat and choose cuts of meat lower in fat to prevent charring.

Other healthy protein sources include legumes, nuts, and seeds.

Vegetables and grains also contain some protein. These plant sources contain polyunsaturated fats, some of which are beneficial to your health. You will learn more about the different types of fats in the next two lessons.

How Much Protein Do You Need?

If you need 2,000 calories per day, then about 300 to 400 calories should come from protein.

One gram of protein has four calories, so that means you would need 100 grams of protein each day. One ounce of protein is about 28 grams, so you need about four ounces of protein each day. One cup of diced chicken breast meat has about 45 grams of protein or just less than two ounces. Three ounces of canned tuna has 20 grams of protein or about two-thirds of an ounce of protein.

So how do you turn this into the right number of portions? One serving of meat is usually about three ounces, or about the size of a deck of cards, and has around 20 grams of protein. One cup of low-fat milk has about eight grams of protein. Twelve almonds have about three grams of protein.

Vegetarians and Incomplete Proteins

Complete proteins contain all of the essential amino acids, and incomplete proteins are missing one or more of the individual essential amino acids. Proteins from animal origin contain all of the essential amino acids, but proteins from plant sources do not. This means that a diet based on plant protein requires the right combinations of protein sources to get enough of all of the essential amino acids.

People who regularly eat meat, dairy, and eggs don't need to be concerned with combining proteins since meat, eggs, fish, poultry, and dairy products all contain complete proteins. Vegetarians and vegans may choose complementary proteins to get all the essential amino acids.

For example, grains are very low in the essential amino acid lysine, but legumes contain large amounts of lysine, so grains and legumes are considered complementary. When you eat both grains and legumes during the day, you will consume the lysine you need.

Here are some combinations of complementary plant proteins. They don't need to be combined at every meal as long as you get enough of the various proteins each day:

Grains plus legumes. Try black beans and rice.
Nuts and seeds plus legumes. Lentil soup with a serving of almonds on the side.
Corn plus legumes. Try pinto beans in a corn tortilla.
There are lots of possible combinations.

Try whole-grain pasta tossed with peas, almonds, and Low-Fat Vegan Alfredo Sauce.

Whole wheat toast with peanut butter will give you a complete protein.

Bean soup with whole-grain crackers.

Corn tortillas with refried beans and rice.

A vegetarian or vegan diet that includes legumes, whole grains, nuts, and seeds will supply all of the essential amino acids. Soy protein is a complete protein, and eating soy will provide you with all of the essential amino acids.

If you really want to lose your body fat then look for my e-books at the websites listed below. You'll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet. Instead of spending hours on the internet reading dozens of posts, you can save time by picking up one of my e-books. 

There are two e-books. “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?” is available at all the online bookstores selling for $3.99. Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find my e-book. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans, or meal plans. Look for my book. at Amazon.com, bn.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

My new e-book is available on Smashwords.com, just type “getting to a Healthy Weight” in the search box at the top of the home page. 

Until February 23 Smashwords is running a sale on my ebooks for $.99 this is your chance to pick up a good read very cheap. I one-stop shop for all the information you need to change your diet, lose weight, lose body fat and find out why you’re having trouble.  Use the code CL77K

Define "Cleaning Eating"

Eating "clean" is gaining traction — but what does it actually mean, and how is it good for the body? You hear about it almost every day if your reading food blogs or watching cooking shows.

Clean eating is a deceptively simple concept. Rather than revolving around the idea of ingesting more or less of specific things (for instance, fewer calories or more protein), the idea is more about being aware of the food's pathway between its origin and your plate. At its simplest, clean eating is about eating whole foods, or "real" foods — those that are un-processed, refined, and handled, making them as close to their natural form as possible. However, modern food production has become so sophisticated that simply eating whole foods can be a challenging proposition these days.

Stores like Whole Foods have changed the food scene. We have more mini grocery's that specialize in fresh foods, organic foods, and healthier brands. Ten or fifteen years ago we had 3 major grocery's where I live, and we had Whole Foods and convenient foods in gas stations. Today the scene is much different. Healthy foods are becoming commonplace in the majors and small grocery chains are springing up throughout the city selling organic, fresh, healthy food. Restaurants are starting to offer healthy food on the menu. The difference is today the public demands it. A menu will have to show the calorie count. And recently the FDA what's food manufacturers to put the amount of added sugar on food labels. These changes won't happen immediately but the changes will be a good thing for consumers.

Not eating processed foods is the biggest part of "eating clean". I was surprised to learn how many people don't really understand what foods are considered to be processed foods. Most people don't realize that bread is processed food and that some cheese is processed. These new kinds of milk like soy milk and almond milk are processed foods and may have chemical additives.

I just finished a sugar detox recently. For 10 days I couldn't eat anything with added sugar. I'm glad I did the detox, but it's difficult finding foods or drinks without sugar.  I had to just buy the basics and make my own food. It's very healthy and I learned a lot and I have no regrets. The hardest part was not eating in restaurants. The other hard part was only drinking water, tea, and coffee. I could add lemon for flavor and add cinnamon to black coffee. I could eat salads in some restaurants but no salad dressing, only lemon, oil, or vinegar.

The reason I mentioned the sugar detox is if you want to get a taste of what it's like to "eat clean", try a sugar detox.

If you really want to lose your body fat then look for my e-books at the websites listed below. You'll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet. Instead of spending hours on the internet reading dozens of posts, you can save time by picking up one of my e-books. 

There are two e-books. “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?” is available at all the online bookstores selling for $3.99. Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find my e-book. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans, or meal plans. Look for my book. at Amazon.com, bn.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

My new e-book is available on Smashwords.com, just type “getting to a Healthy Weight” in the search box at the top of the home page. 

Until February 23 Smashwords is running a sale on my ebooks for $.99 this is your chance to pick up a good read very cheap. I one-stop shop for all the information you need to change your diet, lose weight, lose body fat and find out why you’re having trouble.  

About My Ebooks

This is a little different post than I usually write. I want to thanks the hundreds of people who bought a copy of one of my ebooks. I’m not a professional writer, I just like to write and a friend of mine once told me if I’m going to write I have to write about a subject I love. A subject I can write about every day. A subject that I have personally experienced.

I picked weight loss because I have A lifetime of experience. I started wrestling in school when I was 12 years old. I was in 8th grade when the high school coach came to my school and talked to us about joining the wrestling team. I was a big kid, better suited for football, but I want to do both football and wrestling. The coach would come to my school after classes and taught us how to wrestle. We learned the rules and some of the moves and the strategy. By the time I was a Sophomore I was put on the Varsity team.

My best year was the Junior year when I when to State. That’s what we all competed for, just a chance to go to the State competition.

If you know anything about wrestling, it’s a constant battle to make weight. I wrestled 180 weight class for 3 years. During football season in the fall, I weighed 190. Wrestling started one week after football and the first match was one week after that. So I had two weeks to lose 10 pounds. It’s not that hard when you’re in high school. Your age helps, I started training for wrestling season the Monday after my last football game. We had to run 5 miles every day before we started practice. After 3 minutes on the mat, I was a mass of sweat. I could lose two pounds a day in practice, but I would go home and drink gallons of juice, milk, and water before dinner and put back whatever I lost. The weekends were the hardest to control my weight, but I learned how and I never missed a match.

My senior year was very important If I was going to get a scholarship. I got hurt in football and spent 2 months on crutches. After the doctor said I could play sports again, I weighed about 190 and the coach said I could come back but the only weight class open was 165. I only had 3 weeks before my first match. I made weight for my first match but I was so weak I could barely survive the 6 minutes. I lost that match and several after that and lost a chance for the scholarship I wanted. I tried to wrestle in College but the injury was in my hip and lower back. I had trouble running and I spent most of that season on crutches. That was the end of sports for me.

At least, that’s what I thought at the time. After I finished school, my wife and I got married and I started driving for Coca-Cola. The job was hard work, I had a bottle route delivering to bars, restaurants, and factories. I would unload the truck by hand alone making about 20 stops a day. 12 hours a day was the norm.

I lost 20 pounds my first couple of years with Coke. I started at 185 and soon dropped to 165. After about 5 years with Coke, I was tired of the long commute and I changed jobs. I worked heavy construction for about 5 years until we moved out of state.

The construction job was just as hard so I easily maintained my weight until we bought a restaurant. The work was just as hard with even longer hours but the access to food was almost constant. Over the next 3 or 4 years, I gained 60 pounds. The moment when reality set in was when I had to buy size 38 jeans, after being a 32 for almost 20 years.

That’s when I knew I had to lose weight. I was in my late 30’s and didn’t have a regular doctor so no one was pushing me to lose weight. I just feel bad, not physically, but emotionally. I was depressed by the fact that I had let myself get in this kind of shape after being in near perfect condition since I started to wrestle.

Losing the weight was a long process that took several years because no matter how much I lost, I always put it back on. I tried almost everything and finally, years later I had made it back to the 170s. I stayed there for several years. I became content with myself or maybe I just got tired of dieting.

That’s when I retired and started writing. After a few years of blogging, I had enough research material and time to try writing a book. I didn’t have any intention of getting it published but after more than one year of working on the book and getting some good comments, I decided to turn it into an ebook. Even if no one buys the book, It doesn’t cost that much, so why not.

When I began to look into publishing, I found hundreds of books already on weight loss. I couldn’t believe how many pages of books I found. That’s when I decided to keep blogging and use the posts to tell readers about the ebook. That was several years ago and the sales were slow, but in the last couple of years the sales have picked up.

My second ebook is selling much better. Personally, I think it’s because I picked a better cover. My first ebook had a plain cover, not very interesting, But I thought the material was good.

My second ebook is sold through a different publisher. I spent more time picking the cover give it more color.

So to sum this up before it becomes more boring, again I want to thank the hundreds of people who have bought ebooks and I hope you found some value in them.

Stay Heathy

This is not the kind of post I usually write, but we are not in ordinary times. We are all trying to stay safe from the "virus". The outlook is pretty bleak in the near future but things will get better this summer. 

we have a new uptick in virus cases after Christmas and that was to be expected. 

Meanwhile, we have to try and stay safe. Even if the outbreak tapers off this summer I think we should expect a "new normal". What was normal just a few months ago might not be a reality a year from now.
This might not be the time to worry about your weight. It will take care of itself for now. I know it's a temptation to eat when you spend all day in the kitchen, but if you're not working or going to work take the opportunity to get outside and walk. I walk twice a day now just because I have more free time and I'm tired of watching TV.

YouTube has dozens of exercise videos so take advantage when you have free time. We are all looking for something to do and you will start to get cabin fever because humans can't just hibernate like bears.

This might be a good time to work on a new diet plan. Change your eating habits and get healthy. Avoid junk food and buy more fruit. Stay away from sugar and any foods with sugar. You don't have to starve yourself, just eat better food and you won't be hungry.

If you really want to lose your body fat then look for my e-books at the websites listed below. You'll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet. Instead of spending hours on the internet reading dozens of posts, you can save time by picking up one of my e-books. 

There are two e-books. “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?” is available at all the online bookstores selling for $3.99. Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find my e-book. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans, or meal plans. Look for my book. at Amazon.com, bn.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

My new e-book is available on Smashwords.com, just type “getting to a Healthy Weight” in the search box at the top of the home page. 

Quitting Sugar

I found this article on the web and thought I should post it. There are people out there that really believe that sugar should be "tabu". The no-sugar diet is becoming very popular for the heavy and the thin.

I'm not to that point "yet", but I'm close. The problem with sugar is that manufacturers use sugar or a chemical substitute in everything they make. Go to other countries and or a real bakery and see if they put sugar in bread, but if you read the labels in grocery stores you might not be able to find a loaf of bread with some type of sweetener. To go one step further, I don't think you can find any food that is manufactured without having sweeteners added. Is it any wonder that so many people have diabetes.

Anti-sugar fever seems to be on the rise. Last week, a friend who does not have type 2 diabetes asked me about my diabetes diet: “How many carbs can you eat without raising your blood sugar?” Another pal is on a 21-day-cleanse – no sugars allowed. And folks in my neighborhood recently formed a support group for going cold turkey on sugar, which one member claimed is harder than giving up cigarettes: “No one wants you to smoke, but they’re happy to see you eat a slice of birthday cake.”

With the publication of books like Gary Taubes’ The Case Against Sugar, in which he indicts sugar for health problems like obesity, heart disease, and, of course, diabetes, the health-conscious are taking heed.

I have to admit, all of the hysteria is kind of amusing to me. To treat my type 2 diabetes, I abandoned sugar ages ago, so not eating the sweet stuff is second nature to me by now. Scanning labels for sugar’s aliases – glucose, simple syrup, fruit sweetener – has also become an ingrained habit. And after years of listening to people question my choices – “Are you sure you can’t have a bite?”, “One cupcake surely won’t hurt?!” – the idea of people without type 2 diabetes jumping onto the anti-sugar wagon seems tinged with irony.

Although I’m unconvinced that sugar is the root of all evil or the root of all disease, I’m also pretty sure that it’s not just “empty calories.” And while some diabetes groups preach sugar can be eaten “in moderation” my personal glucose monitor doesn’t agree.

So how hard is it to abandon sugar? That depends, I think, on how much sugar you’re accustomed to eating. If you’ve got a five-Coke-a-day habit, you’re probably going to have a rougher patch than if you only indulge in the dessert on weekend nights.

Wherever you fall on the sugar spectrum, if you are thinking of going cold turkey, here are a few tips:

Seek support. Support groups can help if you’re having trouble going it alone. Talking about what you miss – chocolate chip cookies, mint ripple ice cream, a sugar high – might make it easier. After all, misery loves company.
Journal. Keeping a journal can keep you honest. Dieters have had a lot of success jotting down their daily intake. Logging your daily sugar intake before you try to stop might be a similarly powerful wake-up call.
Read labels. Sugar lurks in the darnedest places – from sugar-cured bacon, to low-calorie fruit spreads to sugar tobacco-cured cigarettes. Familiarize yourself with its many guises and read carefully.
Substitute. If you need a hit of sweetness, I find frozen blueberries can do the trick. Or a little whipping cream mixed with vanilla. While you don’t want to trade in everything for artificial sweeteners, if you like the taste, ten-calorie Jello can make a good transition treat.
Forgive yourself. Going cold turkey on sugar isn’t easy. If you do give into an Oreo cookie today, remember that there’s always tomorrow.

Sugar is a habit and can be just as bad or as addictive as cigarettes. The problem with sugar, like anything else like salt or fats, the body can only process small amounts of it in a day. So, if you have a weight problem you probably have been consuming too much sugar or other sweeteners, salt, or animal fat which is also in dairy products. Once your liver becomes saturated with anything you have been eating in excess, your liver will slow-down its functions. In other words, work slower than normal. When that happens, the liver will turn more animal fats and sugars into body fat and process less than normal. That’s why you add body fat.

Once your liver has slowed down that’s when you have to stop “sugar” altogether. Your liver will recoup over time, but you have to "clean up" your diet.

If you really want to lose your body fat then look for my e-books at the websites listed below. You'll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet. Instead of spending hours on the internet reading dozens of posts, you can save time by picking up one of my e-books. 

There are two e-books. “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?” is available at all the online bookstores selling for $1.99. Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find my e-book. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans, or meal plans. Look for my book. at Amazon.com, BN.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

My new e-book is available on Smashwords.com, just type “getting to a Healthy Weight” in the search box at the top of the home page. 

The Easiest Diet To Follow

Reblogged parts from VeryWell.com. This is one reason most people quit their diet. "It's too hard to follow". I don't care which diet you think might work for you and I don't care who is on the diet and how much someone else lost on the diet, "if you can't stick to a diet, it won't help you". This is a classic mistake that people make, they take advice from someone who likes this new diet and has had luck on the diet, but you have to look closely and read the fine print and if you can't stick to a cabbage soup diet, don't start it. I don't care how much your friend lost. The best diet ever created isn't going to work for you if you can't stick to it. 

When consumers look for a weight loss program, they usually look for the easiest diet to follow. After all, who wants to spend weeks learning a complicated system? But almost every program claims to be easy so it can be hard to choose the best plan.

3 Ways to Find the Easiest Diet

Everyone has a different lifestyle and different food preferences so the easiest diet for your co-worker or your neighbor might not be the easiest diet for you.

The key to getting sustainable weight loss results is to find the plan that works best with your specific skillset and your specific lifestyle.

Ask yourself a few important questions before you look for a diet:

How much time do I have to cook and prepare food?
Do I like to cook and spend time in the kitchen?
Do I like to try new tastes and flavors?
Do I have time to grocery shop?
How much weight do I have to lose?
How much money can I spend on a diet and for how long will I be able to maintain this budget?
Do I enjoy eating foods that are considered to be healthy, like fruits, vegetables or lean meats?
Do I prefer comfort foods like pasta, bread, and baked goods?
If you find a diet that fits into your regular routine and satisfies your food preferences, you're more likely to stick to it long enough to see real weight loss results. In addition, if the plan is simple you're likely to maintain good eating habits after you've reached your goal weight, so weight maintenance becomes easier as well.

The maintenance is important, if you're not going to work on maintaining the weight loss then why bother losing weight?

Top Picks for the Easiest Diet to Follow

Easy diets fall into one of three categories. You'll notice that almost every easy diet has certain key characteristics in common. Portion control, for example, is essential for almost every diet to work. But there are some differences between top diets that may make one plan easier for you to follow.

Your answers to the questions above will help you find the best plan for you.

The Most Convenient Diet
Meal delivery plans are the easiest diets for people who have very little time to cook and prepare food. Often these plans provide small microwavable meals that you can heat up on the go, calorie-controlled shakes to drink, or small snack bars to nibble when you don't have time to sit and eat.

Top picks in this category include Nutrisystem, Jenny Craig, or Weight Watchers. My personal recommendation in this category is Weight Watchers simply because it provides the option of face-to-face support, which makes weight loss easier for many dieters, plus a new on-line program for those who can't do a face-to-face.

This is the best easy diet for people who can make a financial commitment to a diet program (depending on the amount of weight you have to lose, your total cost can run in the thousands) and people who don't like to or don't have time to prepare three meals each day. Keep in mind, however, that plans like Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers do encourage dieters to learn to cook for improved weight loss and weight maintenance.

This is not the easiest diet for people who enjoy large quantities of food (meals and snacks are usually quite small), people who enjoy cooking all of their meals, and people who don't want to invest too much money into their weight loss program.

The Quickest Diet to Learn
If you don't want to spend time and money learning a point system or setting up a food delivery, then you need a diet that is quick and easy to learn. There are some diets like Atkins, Mediterranean diet, or The South Beach Diet that provide simple food lists. If you eat the foods on the approved list and avoid other foods, you'll lose weight. But to really take advantage of these programs long term, you should read the books associated with the diets.

My pick for the big winner in this category is calorie counting. Why? Because counting calories simply requires basic math skills that you already know and there are free apps that make the process super simple.

Calorie counting is like budgeting. You take five minutes to use a calorie calculator and determine your daily calorie budget, then each day deduct calories from your budget as you eat. It's simple, but it takes consistent input, which is easy for some but overwhelming for others.

This is the best easy diet for someone on a budget who is willing to use tech devices (like a smartphone) to put forth small consistent efforts on a daily basis to slim down.
This is not the easiest diet for someone who isn't likely to be consistent with food tracking. This might include someone without access to their smartphone at mealtime or someone who isn't likely to be honest about what they eat and how much they eat.

The Most Accessible Diet
Sometimes the easiest weight loss plan is the one that is easiest to find. There are certain diet products you can find at your regular grocery store that will help you to slim down. They allow you to eat (at least some of) the foods that you normally eat. In this category, the Lean Cuisine diet or the SlimFast Diet plan are top picks.

You'll find frozen meals by brands like Lean Cuisine or Smart Ones in nearly every market in the country. The meals are relatively inexpensive, portion-controlled, and microwavable. For around 300 calories you can eat foods that you are familiar with, like meatloaf, pasta or turkey, and stuffing.

If you choose the SlimFast Diet, you simply consume two easy-to-find SlimFast products as replacements for two meals during the day and eat three low-calorie snacks. Then enjoy one additional 500-calorie meal that you buy or prepare on your own.

This is the best easy diet for consumers who don't want to read books, compare online programs, or make a long-term investment in a food delivery service. These diets are also better suited for dieters who have less weight to lose.
This is not the easiest diet for those who have more pounds to lose or for those who have medical concerns that limit the amount of salt or added sugar in their diet. Some frozen meals and shakes are high in sodium and some have added sugars.

What's the Easiest Diet Ever?

One of the problems with many of the easy diets listed is that they include a lot of processed foods. Frozen products and microwavable meals are generally not as nutritious as a home-cooked meal. Meals that come to you frozen contain lots of sodium and sometimes sugar. Be sure to read the labels. I prefer the fresh meals you can buy at the deli section of your supermarket. You can get low-calorie, low-sodium meals made fresh daily in your supermarket. So which plan would I recommend as the easiest diet to lose weight? Portion control. Simply eat the foods you currently enjoy at mealtime, but eat less. Sounds easy, right? But it doesn't work. If you're adding fat to your body it's because of the foods you're eating, generally when you eat fresh foods and nothing processed you don't eat as much. Fresh foods will satisfy your appetite, processed foods don't, they only fill you up for a short time. You don't have to control portions if you eat fresh foods, mostly vegetables, and fruits.

So which plan would I recommend as the easiest diet to lose weight? I found the best way is to completely change your diet and don't look back. Changing your diet I liken to stopping cigarettes. You might as well know now, weight maintenance means never going back, if you do the weight will return.

If you really want to lose your body fat then look for my e-books at the websites listed below. You'll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet. Instead of spending hours on the internet reading dozens of posts, you can save time by picking up one of my e-books.
There are two e-books. “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?” is available at all the online bookstores selling for $3.99. Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find my e-book. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans, or meal plans. Look for my book. at Amazon.com, BN.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.
My new e-book is available on Smashwords.com, just type “getting to a Healthy Weight” in the search box at the top of the home page.

My Diet's Too Hard

Reblogged parts from VeryWell.com. This is one reason most people quit their diet. "It's too hard to follow". I don't care which diet you think might work for you and I don't care who is on the diet and how much someone else lost on the diet, "if you can't stick to a diet, it won't help you". This is a classic mistake that people make, they take advice from someone who likes this new diet and has had luck on the diet, but you have to look closely and read the fine print and if you can't stick to a cabbage soup diet, don't start it. I don't care how much your friend lost. The best diet ever created isn't going to work for you if you can't stick to it. 

When consumers look for a weight loss program, they usually look for the easiest diet to follow. After all, who wants to spend weeks learning a complicated system? But almost every program claims to be easy so it can be hard to choose the best plan.

3 Ways to Find the Easiest Diet

Everyone has a different lifestyle and different food preferences so the easiest diet for your co-worker or your neighbor might not be the easiest diet for you.

The key to getting sustainable weight loss results is to find the plan that works best with your specific skill set and your specific lifestyle.

Ask yourself a few important questions before you look for a diet:

How much time do I have to cook and prepare food?
Do I like to cook and spend time in the kitchen?
Do I like to try new tastes and flavors?
Do I have time to grocery shop?
How much weight do I have to lose?
How much money can I spend on a diet and for how long will I be able to maintain this budget?
Do I enjoy eating foods that are considered to be healthy, like fruits, vegetables, or lean meats?
Do I prefer comfort foods like pasta, bread, and baked goods?
If you find a diet that fits into your regular routine and satisfies your food preferences, you're more likely to stick to it long enough to see real weight loss results. In addition, if the plan is simple you're likely to maintain good eating habits after you've reached your goal weight, so weight maintenance becomes easier as well.

The maintenance is important, if you're not going to work on maintaining the weight loss then why bother losing weight?

Top Picks for the Easiest Diet to Follow

Easy diets fall into one of three categories. You'll notice that almost every easy diet has certain key characteristics in common. Portion control, for example, is essential for almost every diet to work. But there are some differences between top diets that may make one plan easier for you to follow.

Your answers to the questions above will help you find the best plan for you.

The Most Convenient Diet
Meal delivery plans are the easiest diets for people who have very little time to cook and prepare food. Often these plans provide small microwavable meals that you can heat up on the go, calorie-controlled shakes to drink, or small snack bars to nibble when you don't have time to sit and eat.

Top picks in this category include Nutrisystem, Jenny Craig, or Weight Watchers. My personal recommendation in this category is Weight Watchers simply because it provides the option of face-to-face support, which makes weight loss easier for many dieters, plus a new on-line program for those who can't do a face-to-face.

This is the best easy diet for people who can make a financial commitment to a diet program (depending on the amount of weight you have to lose, your total cost can run in the thousands) and people who don't like to or don't have time to prepare three meals each day. Keep in mind, however, that plans like Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers do encourage dieters to learn to cook for improved weight loss and weight maintenance.

This is not the easiest diet for people who enjoy large quantities of food (meals and snacks are usually quite small), people who enjoy cooking all of their meals, and people who don't want to invest too much money into their weight loss program.

The Quickest Diet to Learn
If you don't want to spend time and money learning a point system or setting up a food delivery, then you need a diet that is quick and easy to learn. There are some diets like Atkins, Mediterranean diet, or The South Beach Diet that provide simple food lists. If you eat the foods on the approved list and avoid other foods, you'll lose weight. But to really take advantage of these programs long term, you should read the books associated with the diets.

My pick for the big winner in this category is calorie counting. Why? Because counting calories simply requires basic math skills that you already know and there are free apps that make the process super simple.

Calorie counting is like budgeting. You take five minutes to use a calorie calculator and determine your daily calorie budget, then each day deduct calories from your budget as you eat. It's simple, but it takes consistent input, which is easy for some but overwhelming for others.

This is the best easy diet for someone on a budget who is willing to use tech devices (like a smartphone) to put forth small consistent efforts on a daily basis to slim down.
This is not the easiest diet for someone who isn't likely to be consistent with food tracking. This might include someone without access to their smartphone at mealtime or someone who isn't likely to be honest about what they eat and how much they eat.
The Most Accessible Diet
Sometimes the easiest weight loss plan is the one that is easiest to find. There are certain diet products you can find at your regular grocery store that will help you to slim down. They allow you to eat (at least some of) the foods that you normally eat. In this category, the Lean Cuisine diet or the SlimFast Diet plan are top picks.

You'll find frozen meals by brands like Lean Cuisine or Smart Ones in nearly every market in the country. The meals are relatively inexpensive, portion-controlled, and microwavable. For around 300 calories you can eat foods that you are familiar with, like meatloaf, pasta or turkey, and stuffing.

If you choose the SlimFast Diet, you simply consume two easy-to-find SlimFast products as replacements for two meals during the day and eat three low-calorie snacks. Then enjoy one additional 500-calorie meal that you buy or prepare on your own.

This is the best easy diet for consumers who don't want to read books, compare online programs, or make a long-term investment in a food delivery service. These diets are also better suited for dieters who have less weight to lose.
This is not the easiest diet for those who have more pounds to lose or for those who have medical concerns that limit the amount of salt or added sugar in their diet. Some frozen meals and shakes are high in sodium and some have added sugars.

What's the Easiest Diet Ever?

One of the problems with many of the easy diets listed is that they include a lot of processed foods. Frozen products and microwavable meals are generally not as nutritious as a home-cooked meal. Meals that come to you frozen contain lots of sodium and sometimes sugar. Be sure to read the labels. I prefer the fresh meals you can buy in the deli section of your supermarket. You can get low-calorie, low-sodium meals. So which plan would I recommend as the easiest diet to lose weight? Portion control. Simply eat the foods you currently enjoy at mealtime, but eat less. Sounds easy, right? But it doesn't work. If you're adding fat to your body it's because of the foods you're eating, generally when you eat fresh foods and nothing processed you don't eat as much. Fresh foods will satisfy your appetite, processed foods don't, they only fill you up for a short time. You don't have to control portions if you eat fresh foods, mostly vegetables, and fruits.

So which plan would I recommend as the easiest diet to lose weight? I found the best way is to completely change your diet and don't look back. Changing your diet I liken to stopping cigarettes. You might as well know now, weight maintenance means never going back, if you do the weight will return.

If you really want to lose your body fat then look for my e-books at the websites listed below. You'll get information on Healthy eating, exercise, and diet. Instead of spending hours on the internet reading dozens of posts, you can save time by picking up one of my e-books.

There are two e-books. “How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight?” is available at all the online bookstores selling for $3.99. Go to any of the websites below and search the title to find my e-book. This book gives you all you need to lose weight without spending money on gym memberships, diet plans, or meal plans. Look for my book. at Amazon.com, BN.com, iBooks, Kobo.com, Scribd.com, or Gardner Books in the U.K.

My new e-book is available on Smashwords.com, just type “getting to a Healthy Weight” in the search box at the top of the home page.