By changing the way you eat, you can dramatically change your life. Find out the reasons why you need to start a diet today…

In this article, I won’t be talking about diets. There are a lot of diets, that you can define on the web or books. I think most important, is the reason why to do a diet. Most people just start a diet they read about, but drop out after a few weeks. So it is more important to mentalize yourself, before starting anything.

If you visualize your goal first, it is easier to achieve it, then just doing things without a purpose. So, why is it important to change your life and start a diet?

Data from thethe U.S. Census Bureau’s Statistical Abstract of the United States shows that Americans are the fattest people of the planet. But in the short term, maybe being obese is not a big deal. Sure, socially it is difficult to be fat person at school or work. People tend to make jokes about them, or to act different to them. However, the big concerns are on the long term. It can  change your life dramatically.

A study by Dutch researchers appeared in the Annals of Internal Medicine. It looked at data collected from 3,457 adults age 28 to 62 in Framingham, Massachusetts, between 1948 and 1990. The results show that, if you are obese by the time you are 40 years old, you will live less.

For example, a 40-year-old woman who is 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighs 150 pounds is considered overweight, with a BMI (body mass index) of 25. She can expect three years cut from her life expectancy, according to the study. If that same woman weighed 180 pounds, her BMI would be 30, she would be considered obese and would lose seven years.

Men are hit almost as hard. A 6-feet-tall man who weighs more than 184 pounds is considered overweight. If he weighed 221 pounds, he would be obese and could expect to lose six years.

Obese smokers can subtract seven more years from their life expectancy. According to the study’s figures, that means obese, smoking women will live 14 years less and men 13 years less than their nonsmoking, lower-weight neighbors.

And I have to add, it is not only the years you are taking from your life. It’s the quality of your life. You’ll can get more diseases by being obese, will have a harder time walking, doing normal activities. Socially, you will keep having a hard time.

My point is, you need to change your life now, and think about yourself in the future. Just look at yourself at 50 or 60 years old, being obese, and having all the problems I mentioned before. Can you care about yourself now?

So how do I change? First, the word diet is always attach to the concept of hard work and eating things you don’t like. It doesn’t have to be that way. First, if you think being on a diet is hard, then it’s going to be hard. Because your mind creates true reality, you are just putting limits to yourself. Second, you don’t have to stop eating everything. Just by eating less, more times a day, can make a big difference.

So here are my ideas to change your diet, and change your life:

1. Diet is easy
First, you need to make this idea stick to your mind. Say to yourself at least twice a day “being on a diet is easy for me. I am achieving my weight off x pounds”. Write it down a piece of paper and have it with you all the time. Whenever you feel tempted to eat, take out that card, and read it. Even better, sign it. Make a contract with yourself, keep your own word. Read more about this on the life changing quotes section.

2. Eat less more times during the day
Here is a number one tip for everyone: don’t go to buffets. I know it’s great to have unlimited amount of food to eat, at one price. However, the real price is your weight. If you go to a buffet, try to make it a salad buffet. Now, instead of doing the three meals a day, try to make it five meals. And have the same quantity of food in every meal. It is not that hard. For example, one meal can be a sandwich and an orange juice. Another meal can be fruits and cereal. Then chicken. Then a soup. So, it is the same you eat every day, you are just not stuffing everything in your mouth at once.

3. Put a value on your weight
Think about gaining weight, as losing money. Because for every pound you gain, you will have to invest your time in losing it. And remember a time is that only they meant we had in our lives. Is the greatest resource, the most valuable. And, give yourself a reward for every pound you loose. Most people who have overweight issues, find food as a reward. That’s why they are obese. If they achieved our goal, for example, finishing a school year, getting a new client, etc. how do we celebrate? We have a big meal. My point here, is that you need to change to reward system beyond food, as a self help motivation mechanism. I know it’s hard, slow great way to find a new reward system, is to write down the activities that make you happy. It is better if you don’t do them very often. For example, I love to go to the museums, and see what’s new. But I don’t do it very often. So, our reward system I could use for losing weight, is taking a Saturday and go to the museum. This is also a great way to organize your life and doing the things you want to do.

4. Research before starting your own diet
Have you heard about Jared, the guy that lost a lot of weight eating subways? Well, don’t try that. That was one case in a million. The best diet, is the one that fit your needs. I’m not an expert in all the different diets, but I know everyone has a specific need for diet, and I know there is available a lot of material. You can’t start searching the web, and when you find that diet you are most interested in, buy a book. You will see it is the best investment you can do, because by not following a method and instructions, at the end you’ll do it wrong and therefore you will have a different result than the one you expected.

5. Focus on what you eat, don’t look for magic pills
Let me tell you a story about those magic pills. About two months ago, my mom started a diet based on pills a doctor prescribed to her. After 10 days of taking the pills, she was loosing weight. However, by day 15, she couldn’t stand up from the bed. She said her back was killing her, she didn’t want to eat, and had a terrible headache. At first, we didn’t think about the pills. However, when she went to the doctor, he showed her that her condition was due to the pills. It is not about finding a magical solution. It is about eating healthier food, and watching what you eat. Food gives the energy your body needs to work. If you give your body the wrong food, your body want to work properly. That’s why you get fat. If you keep your body the right amount and type of food, your body will work perfect. That is the reason why we don’t see obese asians. They have a culture of eating a variety of healthy food, mix all together. They just don’t eat meat. They eat rice, vegetables, fish, meat and fruits altogether. They are giving their body want it needs.

Hope this article can help you change your diet to change your life. If you want me to write more tips on diet, let me know. Please send me an e-mail or follow the change your life phenomenon on twitter.

image credit: bobster855

About the Author

Anton Cela is a self development author and consultant. Phillip Cela is a recognized university teacher and speaker on motivation, leadership and self help. Find more about their work on “The Change Your Life Phenomenon”, a world-wide-movement to help people change their lifes at Change Your Life Phenomenon.com You can send us an email or follow “The CHYL Phenomenon” on Twitter.