The Joy of Dieting: Eight Ways Your Diet Can Be a Gift You Give to Yourself

The choices you make that benefit your health can also greatly benefit your mental state, your energy level, and your peace of mind.

Here are eight great diet tips to help you see how maintaining a healthy weight and eating a nutritious diet are actually two of the best gifts you can give to yourself.

1. The first step in seeing how all of your choices are interrelated is to keep a food diary. Record not just the food and drink that you consume, but how you felt when you ate it. What kind of cravings did you have? How energized are you feeling? Are you sleeping well? When you realize all of the lifestyle benefits that come with eating good, healthy food, you will be more likely to stick to your new healthy eating plan.

2. Plan your meals, making sure to include the foods you love the most. Write out what you plan to eat each day for the next week. Make sure your meal plan includes foods that you personally love to eat. (Just plan to eat small portions, if these foods are high in fat or calories.)

Instead of making your diet all about eating low-calorie foods that you don't like, try integrating the highest quality of foods that you love. If you love chocolate, for example, treat yourself to a small square of your favorite brand at the end of each day.

It's also really helpful to make a grocery list and then make a single trip to the store each week. Shop right after a good, healthy meal so you aren't hungry. When you make a single trip, you will be less likely to be tempted to purchase junk food or treats that you don't really love.

3. As soon as you get home from the store, wash the fruits and vegetables and put them in containers that will make them easy to grab when you are short on time. Make a centerpiece for your kitchen table or dining room table that is large fruit bowl, so the easiest thing to grab is an apple or banana when you need a snack. Doing this has really helped to increase my family's fruit and vegetable consumption. And it reminds me of the abundance of delicious healthy foods that we have always have readily available to us.

4. Try not to skip meals. Instead, simply eat one-half to two-thirds of what you used to eat and ask yourself how you feel. If you are full, stop eating. And remind yourself that you can always have a bit more later if you get hungry.

5. Make sure that each of your meals includes a small portion of protein as well as a small portion of carbohydrate. That should give you a good dose of energy to keep you going until the next mealtime. When your energy starts to wane, reach for a healthy snack with a bit of protein (a bit of peanut butter on crackers or a lowfat yogurt) instead of a vending machine choice filled with processed sugar.

6. Find an exercise you love. You don't have to love the same exercise as your spouse or your friends. Instead of running, maybe you enjoy hiking with beautiful music or an audiobook playing on your mp3. Instead of biking, maybe you enjoy a fast-paced kickboxing class. If you are stumped, ask yourself what kind of activity you most loved as a kid. Your favorite form of exercise might be somehow related.

7. Make sure you are drinking enough water. Doing so will help keep you healthy, and you might find that you eat less, too, and that it's easier to maintain high levels of energy throughout the day. Keep track of the amount of water that you are drinking in your journal.

8. The most important factor is that your diet revolves around changes that you can live with. If you constantly feel deprived and ravenous, chances are good that you are going to have a hard time maintaining this diet over the long haul. Make simple changes by eating only those foods that you love, by eating them in smaller portion sizes, and by moving your body each day in a way that brings you joy.