I treat dieting as an ongoing, enjoyable hobby.

Some say that Diets don't work,
but it isn't Diets that are ineffective.
What doesn't work is the common approach to dieting
which treats dieting as a temporary fix,
instead of embracing the process of dieting
as a permanent part of one's life.

Below is a quote from an online forum
that describes this common approach.

"Dieting has made me over weight.
Because  I get all excited and motivated about a new diet,
just to not be able to stick to it for more then a couple days at best,
fall off and eat a bunch of junk for then next few days.
And I better eat it all cause I'm starting the next diet on Sunday!
It's a vicious cycle and it'll make you fat!!!"

For me, dieting is every day,
and starting or ending a different food plan (or new diet)
happens end-to-end…without any "Vacation time".
I am accountable for everything I eat, every day,
no matter what food plan, or what specific diet I'm on at the moment.
I record it all in my computer software program, DietPower.

Recording my food into a computer program is my Habit.
I don't have to decide whether or not to do it,
just like I don't have to decide whether to shower
or brush my teeth, or use the toilet.

I don't have to remember all of my food details,
because as soon as I log them into the computer,
I can put them out of my mind.

The more details a diet requires,
the more of your willpower it will sap,
and a diet in which you can't maintain willpower will fail.

My program remembers the most of the details for me,
all I have to do is look at it.
"How many calories have I eaten so far?"
"Have I eaten enough protein?"
"Have I reached my carb quota?"
My data is there,
no matter what specific diet or food plan I choose to use.

The more the way that I eat becomes a habit,
the less I exhaust my willpower through "decision fatigue".
I don't have to spend a lot of time figuring out what to eat
unless I want to, because if I don't already have something in mind,
all I have to do is look at my computer screen
to see a list of my previously selected favorites
and pick one to eat….all of the detailed info is there
and with just a click or two I've easily recorded it all.

Once this has become a Habit,
food issues become SO much easier to deal with.

For those of you who are following my “Ask Grandma” video series

Click : “Friends Who Lie" to see my latest video,

which is located in DietHobby under RESOURCES, Videos, Ask Grandma.

 
As strange as it may seem
to those of us who suffer from easy weight-gain,
there are those people who have the opposite issue.

Below I share an edited request that I received 
from a young person who has that problem,
along with my response.

"I would like some good tips on how to gain weight. 
I'm "the skinny one" and sometimes get made fun of.
I go to fast food places and put lots of butter in my food
but it doesn't do much...also..do you know of any kind of food
that makes you have an appetite and makes you eat more?
because i lose my appetite easily for some reason"

Your genetics is probably the reason you are thin.

Your body could be extra efficient at burning calories,
which in our modern society of too much fattening food around us,
is a really good thing. 

Many people are very envious of that quality,
and wish that they had it themselves,
this is probably why they make negative comments about it. 

It is probably a bad idea to purposely try to gain weight.
First, because your body is really efficient,
it knows what it needs.

Unfortunately, the plan I suggest that you use doesn't work for fat people,
but in your personal case, if you make certain to eat around 40 grams
of proteins, or more, every day like meat, chicken, fish, eggs, and cheese,
your body will tell you how much of the other kinds of foods to eat along with it. 

The other reason it's a bad idea to TRY to gain weight,
is that you can't choose WHERE on your body that this fat will go.
Genetics also controls that, and all of those marketing claims
about exercising to put weight on or take it off only in certain spots are total lies.
So the fat could go right to your belly, or to your waist or thighs,
instead of being distributed in a way that you would find attractive. 

Finally, you are very young, and time seems to take care of extreme thinness.
..even when we wish that it would not.
There are many older overweight people
who were very thin as children, teenagers, or young adults. 

 I see it everywhere.  

Business companies, politicians, religious leaders,
and people of all ages, and walks of life,
all saying that they "want to be different", to stand out from the crowd.

Be to be UNIQUE, yet, at the same time,
be similar enough to others,
to be able to fit in with others. 
Quite a dilemma, but this video has an answer.