The Spark Diet

“This diet will change your life!” You’ve heard that one before, haven’t you? The latest crazes claim to have stumbled upon a magic secret that decades of research and millions of real-life experiences have failed to discover - and now they’re willing to share it with you. Too bad those “secrets” or “discoveries” never quite pan out the way they’re supposed to. The problem is, these diets do not change your life, even if they do help you lose weight. They don’t change your life, because they don’t change your lifeSTYLE. When the diet’s over, you end up with the same habits and daily routines that caused the weight gain in the first place. Typical diets are temporary solutions to what for many of us is a lifetime problem. That’s why 95% of dieters gain their weight back within a year - and often more. Fads and gimmicks are no match for some plain, old-fashioned common sense. Dieting without a lifestyle change is like patching a flat tire. You can put a temporary fix on the damaged area to get the car rolling again. But it’s highly likely that you’ll just end up patching it again later - just as it’s likely that you’d have to diet again at some point. There are millions of frustrated dieters out there who have made a practice of patching tires again and again and again, and are still struggling. If they simply had a better set of tires (or a healthier lifestyle), this wouldn’t be a problem anymore. The SparkDietTM is a four-stage process that helps you make the elusive jump from “dieting” to a “fresh, new lifestyle.” These stages zero in on the keys to a lifestyle transition that fixes the problem once and for all - motivation, healthy habits, and confidence. When these are normal parts of your everyday life, you may never need to “go on a diet” again.

Yo-yo dieting may seem like a harmless way to live, but it is serious, dangerous business. Studies have shown that yo-yo dieting is hard on your heart and depletes your immune system. Not only that, but it’s counterproductive. Every time you lose weight and gain it back, it makes it much tougher for your body to lose weight again and much easier to gain it. So, every time you diet, it’ll take a higher and higher toll on you - and your body - until you completely wear yourself down or give up trying altogether. So, unlike most diets, the SparkDiet will be a positive experience. No more yo-yoing here, just steady progress that winds up with permanent results. It will make you feel good about yourself instead of training you to find flaws or beat yourself up. Hopefully, you’ll meet new people in the community and have some fun. Most of the fun you’ll have will come from freedom. Freedom to make the journey as you see fit, freedom to mess up without the world ending, and freedom to create the healthy lifestyle that you’ve always wanted. So jump off the dieting roller coaster and free yourself from this harmful cycle. You’ll land safely and - yes - your life will change.

The Fast Break Stage is a springboard that gives more power to the other SparkDiet Stages. Just a little prep and practice give you a head start without the need for manic, life-altering changes. You’ll choose and focus on three small, simple goals that will help you get off to a good start without overwhelming you. Meanwhile, you’ll learn six strategies that will set you up for success. Healthy Diet Habits help you chisel away at the building blocks of a healthy lifestyle. These are six simple changes you can make in your life that really add up to something special. If you pick up these six habits - and if they stick around - we can almost guarantee that you’ll reach your goals. You’ll also accelerate your weight loss during this stage by regularly using the meal planner and nutrition tracker, tools that help you build a healthy lifestyle the right way. Stage 3 bridges the gap from dieting to healthy lifestyle and gets you ready to spread the “spark” to other people. The Lifestyle Change gives you a chance to learn to live with your collection of new habits. Even more importantly, it also teaches you how to stay motivated and consistent. Persistent self-motivation is the key to keeping momentum alive and making it different this time. This is the culmination of weeks of hard work. In this stage, we’ll help you max out your weight loss success and put it to good use as a positive force for your loved ones and community. You can draw on everything you’ve done up till now to reach your goals and dreams, and to help others do the same. You can do whatever you put your mind to!

The diet program is a combination of directed and self-directed action. Your MySpark Page, along with reminder e-mails, will guide you to the right places at the right times. The program is set up with activities, tools, goals, articles, and information that help you build the skills and habits to live a healthy lifestyle. This is a very hands-on process. Quick fixes may promise weight loss while you sleep, but a healthy lifestyle is active, not passive. You’re going to play an active part in making real changes, instead of waiting for them to happen to you. Every step will be another boost of motivation and momentum. You’ll cover a wide range of topics, from controlling your portions to coping with setbacks. Every bit of it is designed to build confidence and habits that last. While all of this is going on, you’re encouraged to explore and use the site and its resources to your advantage. We know that everyone moves at different speeds and that you can be tripped up by tricky obstacles that are out of your control. Because of this reality, you control when you move on to each higher stage. You can either follow the prescribed schedule (highly recommended), or wait to move on until you feel more ready. Also, if you miss a topic or two - or even if you completely fall off the wagon for a while - you can revisit old topics and strategies at any time. You’ll do much better, and you’ll see stronger, longer-lasting results, if you pay attention to all of these strategies and habits. You’re not being timed, so there’s no need to rush. You will lose weight, but don’t forget that keeping it off is just as important. So make a commitment, take some time, and make sure you get it right.

Going out on a limb here, it’s probably a safe assumption that you want the SparkDiet to work. You want it to work fast, you want it to work well, and you want it to stick. You’re in luck. Whatever else happens in the next several weeks, whatever else you learn, there are three major ingredients that run through every stage of the SparkDiet, and make it work. These factors are proven to accelerate weight loss and raise your motivation levels to new heights. Any time spent here will save hours of false starts, confusion, and frustration. You may have heard that “it takes a village to raise a child.” Well, it can take a whole community to help each other reach goals. That’s exactly what the community does. Tens of thousands of people from around the world use our site as a gathering place and a forum for meeting, motivating, and trading ideas. You’re now a member of this community. Many of our members say that the only thing standing between their success and failure is often a kind word or bit of advice from another member. Post on the message boards regularly, join a SparkTeam, comment on someone's SparkPage blog, or do a SparkPage search for other members like you. The calorie equation is the core of what you’ll be doing in the SparkDiet. To lose weight, you simply need to burn more calories than you take in. The best way to know if you’re reaching your calorie goals is to simply create weekly meal plans and track what you’ve eaten. Our meal planner and nutrition tracker, along with reporting and journal tools, give you a real-time, clear picture of how you’re doing at any time. In some stages, you’ll be using these tools more than in other stages, but you should always be in the habit of using these tools to get a handle on what you’re eating. Few diets ask you to do anything more than eat what they tell you to. That’s part of the problem; a one-size-fits-all weight loss program is doomed to fail. You can customize the SparkDiet to fit your needs, and to do this, it’s important to know something about yourself. In the next several weeks, you’ll be introduced to several simple activities that help you learn what type of program strategy works best for you. So watch for the Diet Personality Profiler, Fitness Personality Profiler, Main Motivation Worksheet, and Healthy Lifestyle Checkups. They’re your chance to learn something that you didn’t know before. One other way to learn about and pay attention to your body is to find methods to measure progress that don't involve weighing yourself on the scale. We would all agree that the benefits of fitness and weight loss go far beyond the number on a scale, so fixating on that number alone really doesn't make sense. It's fun to discover how your body changes as it grows healthier, no matter what the scale says. Measuring different areas of your body is a great example. Your neck, arms and waist can prove progress even when the scale doesn't budge. www.sparkpeople.com