5 hints to help prevent your diet from failing

Setting weight loss goals is a great start to leading a healthier life, but it can be hard to shed the pounds you need to reach your ideal weight. Here are five hints that will help prevent your diet from failing.

It might sound strange to write down everything you eat, but it can help you achieve your diet goals. Why? Because you'll actually "see" how much you eat, which can be a real eye-opener.

• List all the foods that you consume and the number of calories each one contains. Generally speaking, it's best to keep daily calorie intake under 1,750 for men and 1,500 for women.

Go grocery shopping frequently and make sure your house is filled with healthy and nutritious foods.

• It's easier to cook healthy meals if you have the right ingredients at home.
• Keeping your kitchen stocked with healthy ingredients also allows you to get creative with your cooking, which can help reduce the temptation to eat less healthy meals because you're bored with the same old menu.

Snacking is actually great for your diet. Why? Because you're most likely to cheat and binge on junk food when you're hungry. For that reason alone, don't allow yourself to get so hungry that you forget about your diet.

• Keep nuts, fruit, granola bars and other favourite snacks at your desk and in your bag for quick snacking when you get a hunger pang.

It's much harder to control your portion size and calorie counts when you eat at a restaurant. The result is that you usually end up consuming much more than you would at home. Worse, there are many hidden fats and calories in your meal due to the way most restaurants prepare food.

• Cook light meals for yourself instead of dining out. And if you'd like some company, invite a friend over to eat with you.

Don't be too hard on yourself while you're dieting. When you first start the process, it can be very hard to make changes to your lifestyle and give up things that you love.

• Congratulate yourself on your small accomplishments and think of ways you can reward yourself, whether your reward is a bubble bath or a piece of dark chocolate as an after-dinner treat. On the flip side, don't give up if you slip once or twice.

Sticking to your diet can feel like an uphill battle, especially when you first start. But with a bit of perseverance and by following these tips, you'll boost your chances of success at shedding those unwanted pounds more easily.