The most common reason that people diet is for weight loss. While most of us would love to claim the noble reason of dieting for health most of us are doing so for vanity. This, however, is a perfectly acceptable reason for making the lifestyle changes that are necessary. In fact, this reason might prove to be a far greater motivator than many of the other reasons.

When trying to lose weight one of the most common complaints is constantly feeling hungry. In order to help combat this, you might want to incorporate some of the following strategies into your dieting program. First of all, eat more high fiber foods. Whole grains, apples, pears, and lima beans are a great source of fiber as are many breakfast cereals. Easy does it however when it comes to fiber as it may be filling but there are some unpleasant side effects that may accompany heavy fiber eating (remember that beans are a good source of fiber). Try using a product such as Bean-o when consuming larger amounts of fiber. You might also try spreading your fiber intake throughout the day rather than consuming all your daily fiber at once.

Another method for feeling fuller when dieting is to drink plenty of water while dieting. Water provides an important service to the body and is very necessary when it comes to delivering all the nutrients where they need to go. Water also helps regulate your metabolism, which is very important to the dieting and weight loss process. Additionally, water will help you skin retain its elasticity so that your skin can go more easily back into place once the serious weight loss begins.

Learn to control your portions. We live in a world where portions are over inflated and super sized so often that we no longer know what an appropriate portion looks like. Restaurant meals are quite often more than adequate for at least two full meals and that is before salads, soups, appetizers, or desserts have been ordered. Learning to portion correctly can save you from over loading your calorie intake for the day massively. It can also help you get extra helpings of the lower calorie foods such as lettuce and other vegetables rather than taking such large portions of calorie rich starches or fried foods.

Eat slowly - The process of chewing foods with saliva is the first step in digestion. The more thoroughly we chew our foods, the less work is needed to digest them. Those who have upset stomach, stomach pain or heartburn after eating, are eating too fast and are causing their stomach problems. By eating slowly, the stomach tells the brain when we have eaten as much as necessary. For people who want to eat less, eating slowly is most valuable.

For best results, add exercise to your plan. Regular exercise not only expends energy, but you'll burn more calories. High impact exercises burn the most Calories, but don't decide on exercises solely on their fat-burning promise. Instead, pick exercises that you enjoy, and want to make into a habit.

You can still eat your favorite foods! Just cut your portion sizes by half. For example, if you are used to eating a whole sandwich for lunch, just eat half and add raw veggies and fresh fruit.

Try eating fruit for breakfast! Any Fresh fruit - apples, cherries, oranges, grapefruit, strawberries, melon, and grapes all count. You have an endless supply to choose from. Eating fruit for breakfast is cleansing and will lead to a healthier body right away. Fruit is full of vitamins and minerals and is low in calories, but high in energy.

Give yourself a treat from time to time. Just make sure you keep an eye on the quantity and frequency. If you deny yourself any treats then you are more likely to regress to your old ways.

Keeping a food journal helps you pin point your eating pattern and will assist you to easily modify it.

One of my favorite diets is still one adapted from Fit For Life. You can check it out at http://www.ezshoppingportal.com/prosper/food.htm

Whatever well-balanced diet you choose, be smart, stay with it and you will lose weight healthily.

You'll not only look better and feel better now but you might enjoy life more.