Dieters don’t need willpower… They need a plan!

If your main aim is to shed a few kilos, don’t rely too heavily on willpower, scientists say what you really need is planning!

What they suggest is that it is best to do healthy shopping lists, take fruit and vegetables to work, and even come up with clever excuses about how to refuse your colleagues’ offers of  fattening  treats, and the weight is bound to drop off. A delight when you step on that scale.

The study mentioned how people can boost their daily intake of fruit and vegetables. This leads to weight loss as you make yourself full on healthy goods and feel less tempted to eat fatty, unhealthy snacks.

As Psychologist Cristina Albuquerque from the Lisbon University Institute in Portugal mentions, the key to success is planning and motivation.

She also advised that “Buying food ad hoc in the supermarket is not a helpful approach. Write a list and make a deliberate intention to change behaviour or lose weight, because this is a strategy that works,”.

Preparing a shopping list is key. People who said they would plan in advance to get their five-a-day or more were much more likely to succeed with their healthy eating goals.

Planning was particularly helpful in surprise situations, such as when offered cakes at work to celebrate a colleague’s birthday. Knowing what to say in advance made avoiding temptation much easier.

Will power alone is not enough to help you achieve your weight loss goals.

Some examples of planning are:

• Taking fruit wherever you go
• Planning Menus
• Making healthy snacks in large batches to keep on at hand or in the car
• Making large batches of dinner for freezing and easy lunches

It can be said that planning is more so a psychological process which helps people make the correct choices for themselves.

The more fruit and vegetables one adds to their diet, the more it has been proven to keep weight off as it is replaced by less healthy food. You may be too full or eat less of that cheese pie that would have otherwise been a snack.

How do you keep tabs on what you’re eating? Do you stick to a plan?