If you are like many of us, you have tried some sort of diet during your lifetime.

Whether you have tried the Atkins diet, the grapefruit diet, the green tea diet or the low fat diet, one thing can be said for all of them; they were temporary and did not keep the weight off.

The problem with all of these diets? They are not sustainable, and even if you do lose weight at first, you usually end up gaining it back plus more.

Why? Well, let`s look at an example. Say that you weigh 150 pounds, so you burn 1,800 calories per day in a resting state.

Let`s also assume that you burn 200 more calories per day by doing daily activities like walking up and down steps and carrying your groceries etc, so you are burning a total of 2,000 calories per day.

Now, let`s say you consume 2,050 calories per day, therefore storing 50 calories more than it needs each day. These 50 extra calories add up to 1 pound every 70 days, so over the course of a year, you would gain 5 pounds.

So, to avoid this, you go on a diet. With the diet you choose, let`s say you are only allowed to consume 1,000 calories a day, and you start jogging 2 miles per day, so that you are consuming 1,200 calories less than you need. Over the course of 3 days, you will lose 1 pound of weight, and in two months, you will lose 20 pounds.

When you have lost 20 pounds, you are at your goal weight and decide to stop your diet plan.

What happens next though is the real issue?

First, you will probably eat more calories than you were allowed to on your diet, and will settle into your normal eating pattern again (what you ate before you started the diet). Even if you continue exercising, you will STILL gain weight back, because you are again consuming more calories than you are burning.

You cannot go back on the 1,000 calorie diet for the long-term, because you will not be getting enough nutrients, and while you may lose weight, it will mostly be water weight and muscle mass that you are losing, and you will also start to have health issues like hair loss, tooth decay and nausea.

A 1,000 calorie diet is not healthy nor sustainable. Most diets follow this unsustainable pattern and you end up in the roller-coaster....lose, gain, lose, gain...but you never get ahead. This is why we want to discuss the "healthy way" to lose eight.

So what is the "healthy way"...

There are healthy diets. These are diet plans that allow you enough calories to stay nourished, and include exercise plans as well.

One thing that you should look for in a diet is that it includes a diet plans that includes healthy, natural foods, allows you to eat as much as you need to be satisfied, and includes exercise ideas and support to get you through all of the stages.

Most importantly, look for a long-term diet plan that will fit into your lifestyle, so that you will never have to go into the stage where you slip back into your old eating habits.

I don't like the word diet in fact, because people think of diets as trends or temporary. In order to lose weight and to keep it off, you need to make eating and exercise part of your "lifestyle".

There are not short-cuts or magic pills for weight loss!

You have probably read the promise of magic weight loss pills and drinks, but those options never work, because they are NOT healthy and are NOT intended for long-term use.

By reducing your calorie intake by cutting out the really bad snacks (like chips and candy) and replacing them with healthy snacks (like nuts and fruit) and by integrating an exercise plan into your life, you can start to lose weight.

A few things our Strip That Fat will teach you are:

• replace fizzy drinks with water

• swap whole milk for skim milk

• have smaller portions and eat slowly

• cut out unhealthy treats by packing healthy snacks with you

You CAN lose weight, and can become a happier, healthier you. Following a sustainable diet plan may take a week or two before you notice any changes, but they will steadily appear. After the first month you will be able to see the results and measure them in terms of looser fitting clothes, and you will also begin to see other benefits, like having more energy, sleeping better and being able to concentrate longer.

Remember, diets that dont allow you enough calories or promise to have you lose 5 pounds in 5 days are just unhealthy and wont last. Choose a healthy, sustainable diet and exercise plan, and you wont ever have to diet again!