Most "diets" are fads. They claim some special weight loss power. You try them. You lose some pounds and feel good about it. Then you put them back on within a year.

That means most diets don't work. If they don't help you keep the weight off for more than a year, what good are they? Being fat, thin, and fat again is psychologically damaging.

What you really need is healthy eating habits. Any family physician will tell you so. It doesn't matter what you call it. I recommend something like the Mediterranean Diet, which is has been a good idea since it was "discovered" in the 1950s. But gosh, it isn't rocket science.

Did your mother ever tell you to eat your vegetables? There you go. A healthy diet has lots of fiber, complex carbohydrates, and protein. It deemphasizes red meat, fat, and sugar.

Well, duh. You've always known that, just like you've always known smoking is bad for you. If you eat junk, you'll feel like junk, and look like a jalopy.

Don't go overboard. You can occasionally have a cookie, or some pizza. But you can't have Mt. Saint Pizza very often. If you do, you'll never lose the pounds you want to lose. Cut the calories, lose the weight. Learn to "eat right," as your Mom probably told you, and you'll keep that weight off forever.

So if you're looking for the perfect eating plan to lose weight, remember to eat your veggies, and cut out the junk.

Copyright by Roy Miller