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Diet and Lifestyle Plans, continued
Induction phase
Many diets, for example the South Beach have an” induction phase”. This is a stricter period at the beginning of the diet. There are various names and rationales for the induction phase. For most people this phase causes a quick loss of weight. It can be very encouraging and motivate you to continue.
Meal replacement/Prepared meals
Meal replacement products were very popular, fell out of favor, and are now making something of a comeback. The Ensure and Slimfast shakes are probably the best known. Now in addition to the drinks there are also a number of bars and other foods available.
Probably the best known of the prepared meal diets is Jenny Craig. In addition to Jenny Craig centers, food can be ordered online in conjunction with personal consultation. There are now a number of plans that combine meal replacement with prepared meals. For instance HMR is used by many nutrition programs at Universities etc.
Not having to plan food, have food and snacks around the house etc., is very attractive to some people. The disadvantages are that the foods can become boring, and the cost may be higher than other diet plans. One disadvantage used to be that relying on prepared meals used does not set you up for healthy eating after stopping the plan. However, many of the meal replacement plans now teach healthy eating as part of the plan and transition to home prepared foods.
Group support
Many of the organized programs including Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, South Beach Diet, Zone Diet and Atkins Diet have community support on their websites. There are a number of weight loss forums on the web such as http://www.caloriesperhour.com/forums/.
You decide what will work for you
Think about which changes would suit you. Do you prefer to have a plan to strictly follow? Or do you prefer guidelines? What would fit with your life?
Think about your diet as part of a lifestyle change. It does not need to be radical. In fact, radical is not likely to succeed for very long. Changes can be gradual as they suit you.
It is the rest of your life, put it in perspective and don’t focus on the minor slip-ups.
