As with exercise, you should continually experiment to discover what works best for you. Creating the right diet plan for you should be a process of trial and error – and ongoing experimentation with portion sizes, food combinations, eating at different times of the day, etc. This will take time and practice on your part. Prepare to be flexible and willing to learn from and improve on your mistakes. Every time you experiment with an open mind, you have an excellent opportunity to learn and improve. Take advantage of this!

Many diet plans tell you what to eat, how much to eat, and when to eat it. This does not teach you how to attend to your own cravings, desires, or hunger. This teaches you nothing about living and feeling healthier and happier. Everyone has different strengths, weaknesses, and eating patterns. You will only become successful when you learn to respond to your own feelings and not to what someone else says is right for you. It is critical that you learn how to be aware of and attend to both feelings of hunger and fullness, and learn what will satisfy you both physically and psychologically.

Your own body, not someone else’s routine, is the very best guide for how much you need to eat. Try to get in the habit of tuning in to your internal cues of hunger, and not just eating the amount of food you think you should, or tuning in to external cues like the sight or smell of food. It’s okay to eat any amount of food to feel both physically and psychologically satisfied. But you must learn to stop when you feel comfortably full, not stuffed.