Make Any Diet Work for You

In this article: 

• No matter which healthy diet you choose, you’ll be more successful when you follow it for the long haul.
• You can tweak it to make it nutritionally adequate and include foods you enjoy.
• You can also plan for social events and other special occasions.
• Build your environment to make sticking to the diet easier.
• Have a plan for if you hit a plateau or aren’t achieving your goals. 
• Ask your doctor before starting any new diet, and stay in touch with your provider throughout your journey.
• Your Lark coach is available 24/7 to help you make healthy choices around nutrition, activity, and more.

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The way to make a healthy diet most effective is to follow it for the long haul. Whether you opt for Mediterranean, low-carb, intermittent fasting, or another plan, you’re more likely to find success when you can stay consistent on routine days and in other real-life situations like busy schedules, travel, cravings, social events, and more. 

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While it can be challenging sometimes, the good news is that there are ways to keep on track, regardless of which diet you and your healthcare provider choose.  Here are strategies for sticking to any smart diet plan while maintaining your lifestyle.

1. Make sure you can access foods on the diet.

Make sure you know how to get the foods and any other products your plan relies on. Many plans rely only on foods you can find at standard supermarkets. Examples include low-carb, low-fat, Mediterranean, and DASH plans. Grocery staples may include vegetables, fruit, fish, whole grains, nuts, and spices, for example. Many diets are flexible, allowing you to swap one item for another. For example, on a Mediterranean diet, your dinner options may be salmon, chicken, or ground turkey, allowing you to use whatever is available in the store or your freezer. 

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Some diets rely on specialized foods and supplements. There may be protein bars and shakes, packaged ready-to-eat or ready-to-heat meals, or branded meal replacements and supplements. If this is the case for you, be sure you know how to purchase these items, whether online or in a brick-and-mortar store. Consider ordering in advance so you’re always well stocked.

2. Check for affordability

Some diets rely on specific foods or products that can be pricey. Others may be less expensive, or more flexible so you can select lower-cost foods. Here are some examples. 

See tips on saving money on healthy foods.

3. Understand how the diet works

It’s important to understand why weight loss happens on the diet so you can make adjustments as needed. Since you can only lose body fat by reducing calorie consumption compared to your calorie expenditure, ask yourself how the diet reduces calories. Here are some possibilities. 

• Restricting or eliminating high-calorie foods, like sugar-sweetened foods, bread, pasta, and many snack foods, on low-carb diets
• Emphasizing portion control, like diets with pre-packaged meals or meal replacements
• Shifting to lower-calorie options, like leaner proteins and more fruits and vegetables, on a Mediterranean program or DASH diet

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This knowledge can help you stay on track with your weight management efforts even if you can’t follow the diet to the letter every single day. 

4. Know your restaurant options

Whether you’re going to a restaurant for a leisurely breakfast or brunch, a business lunch, or a night out, figure out what you can order to stay on track. Here are some common items that may work on many diet plans. 

• Lean proteins like skinless chicken, fish, shrimp, tofu, and beans
• Vegetables like side salads, entree salads, and seasonal vegetables
• Fresh fruit
• Dairy products like milk andcheese

For breakfast, look for eggs or egg whites, oatmeal, cottage cheese, plain yogurt, fresh fruit, and whole-grain toast with peanut butter

5. Plan for Social Eating

Most people occasionally or frequently eat with other people like family, friends, or coworkers. Consider how your social eating events can fit into your diet. Here are some examples.

6. Make appetizing menus

You may be on this diet for a while if the goal is to lose weight and keep it off, so it’s critical that you enjoy the foods on it! Here are tips for different types of diets.

You have many options, so experiment with new foods and recipes to develop meals and menus that you enjoy.

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7. Build an environment for success

Willpower is limited, so don’t depend on it for success on your diet. Instead, build your environment to make healthy choices easier. 

• Stock up on any necessary foods, ingredients, and products
• Hide or get rid of foods that aren’t on your plan
• Prepare foods ahead of time so they’re always readily available when it’s time to eat
• Plan meals and menus ahead of time so you don’t have to make decisions about what to eat when mealtime comes

8. Have a plan for challenging days

In real life, challenging days are likely to occur. Make a plan! What are you going to eat when you’re traveling, busy, or tired? What if something unexpected happens and you don’t have a chance to go grocery shopping or cook? 

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Here are some ways to face challenges like these.

• Have instant or ready-made foods on hand, such as healthy soups or egg muffin cups that you’ve put in the freezer
• Have enough pantry staples to make a meal that fits your diet. For example, you might be sure to have whole-grain pasta and marinara sauce in the pantry, and salmon and broccoli in the freezer, so a balanced dinner is a few minutes away
• If you tend to snack, have healthy snacks available anywhere you may be when it’s snack time, like in your car, at work, or in your pantry

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9. Adjust before giving up

Sooner or later, you’re sure to have setbacks on any diet. You may not lose weight at first, or you may lose weight at the beginning, but hit a plateau within weeks or months. First, review your diet plan to make sure that you’re only eating foods that are allowed on the plan. 

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Then check portions. Some diets allow high-calorie-dense foods, but large portions are high in calories and can interfere with weight loss. Say you’re on a low-carb diet, for example. Fatty meats, butter, and oil are free from carbs, and cheese is low-carb, but these foods are high in calories. Shifting portions can help.

In this example, small changes in portion sizes changed calorie totals by 300 - enough to potentially make a difference in weight loss. 

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Here are more tips for overcoming plateaus.

10. Settle into a Routine

Turn your healthy diet choices into low-effort habits by establishing routines. These can include grocery shopping at certain stores on certain days, eating at consistent times, having menus that repeat weekly or every couple of weeks, and knowing when you’ll be going off your plan for special occasions. 

How Lark Can Help

All diets have pros and cons, but you can do better on any diet when you tweak it to make it work for your individual needs. Lark can help you make small changes to improve heart health, lose weight, and manage or prevent chronic conditions. Your Lark coach is available 24/7 for encouragement, nutrition and physical activity coaching, and habit tracking. Lark can help you make healthy choices and establish habits that fit into your lifestyle so you can lose weight and keep it off with or without GLP-1 medications. 

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Click here to see if you may be eligible to join Lark today!

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