Nearly half the population in the west is overweight and the number is increasing daily. as a society we have become obsessed with food and with our weight. Every day in the newspapers and broadsheets there is an article on diets or obesity

There is no shortage of diet products on the market and the availability of slimming online has increased to satisfy this growing market.

We have seen an increase with various low calorie diets and fad diets that have came and went like the Cambridge diet Aitkin's diet low calorie and vegetarian recipes cabbage soup diet southbeech diet all have it big

If you really want to succeed at losing weight then you have to review your eating habits and lifestyle. Challenging the behaviour that encourages weight gain, and making drastic changes in what, when, and how you eat will make the biggest difference to you and your eventual outcome of a slim and healthy new you.

To get your dream of your desired weight you have to envisage it and then put into practice it may mean having to adopt a whole new lifestyle.

Looking at the reasons

There are many different reasons why we are overweight and it can be psychological including insecurity, boredom, loneliness or worry and the influence of advertising cannot be dismissed. Daily we are bombarded with food advertisements in newspapers and television. Being slim is seen as health orientated.

When we start a new diet our main concern is to lose weight and quickly. Usually in the first week of the diet it is achieved not only by weight loss but also of water loss, which is the main contributory element in initial weight loss. Weight loss has to be maintained and that is the deciding factor for so many and it is during that time that decides whether the diet will succeed or fail.

A good diet will settle down to a steady weight loss of about two or three pounds a week and ideally it should be no more than that to be a healthy diet. It is as much as the human body can afford to lose and still continue to feel well and function normally. This is what the cabbage soup diet and southbeech diet do.

Crash diets are used when people become too impatient and want bigger and faster weight loss. But these diets may be useful for a quick loss but are of no use when it comes to lifestyle changes because no human can maintain a crash diet for any lengthy period and remain healthy. You are better to follow low calorie and vegetarian recipes .

By following a sensible eating plan and introducing some small exercise changes into your lifestyle you are more likely to succeed at dropping the weight and keeping it off. The longer you maintain a healthy diet the more likely you are to become used to eating healthily, and when you reach your target weight, the lifestyle changes you have made will be a part of you and