The surprisingly, often neglected causes of diet failures, and how you can avoid them.

Reason 1:  dieting is appalling, a horrible experience, we think. Often we associate dieting to all sorts of negativity. We never really enjoy it and feel that it is a painful process. All these negative thoughts will easily pull one self away from the diet plan and result in giving up the diet. If we learn to associate good feeling and pleasure to diet, such as improving one’s body, appealing to the opposites sex.. we will stay on the diet longer, which means , nearer to our achievements.

Reason 2:  making a diet that is too complicated till you paralysis. We want a good, effective diet plan, but sometime we can overdo it, render it almost impossible to execute. Start simple, more realistic plan that doesn’t cause too much inconvenience to your life. In this way we are more consistent with it in the long run.

Reason 3: hanging out with the wrong persons. Your friends are important, they will impact what you do and who you are in major way. If you hang out with friend that do a lot of drinking, eating..you will invariably be influence to do the same things and that blow your diet to the full. So be smart, hang out with friends that have the same interest and goals, you will find yourself moving toward your goals faster.

We train hard and we expect great result, but sometimes that promise never come. We then train harder and thought the body we hope for will arrive soon, but what’s coming are soreness, injuries and the body remain the same.

What’s gone wrong? Before going on to buy more supplements, doing more complicated, harder workouts, ask yourself, do you sleep enough? And do you sleep well? The metabolic phase during sleep is anabolic,( growth hormone is preferentially released during sleep)  that means that the body repair and built during this phase. If you are not getting enough of it. It resulted in sub-optimal adaption of your training. Here are some tips to get a good sleep:-

- Consume  tryptophan containing foods such as milk, meat , fish, eggs, beans, peanuts and leafy green vegetables.

- Consume high carbohydrate meals at least 4 hours before sleep.

- Minimize alcohol and caffeine intake prior to bed time.

- Don’t drink too much water prior to bed time.

- Regularize bed time.

- And sleep for 7 -8 hours.

If we want to power through our workouts, then what we eat and drink before and afterwards is vital. The equation is simple – you need energy to fuel the activity and you need to replenish energy stores after you finish. Aim to eat an hour or two before exercise. This gives us time to digest the food so the fuel will be available when we need it. Low-GI carbohydrates are the best choice because they release energy gradually. Fat, fibre and large amounts of protein slow down digestion, so hitting the gym after a bag of chips or a protein shake isn't going to help your workout! We're all different when it comes to how much we need to eat before exercise, what we prefer and when we eat it. Do some experimenting and find out what works best for you.

"Don't eat too much before you exercise. Large quantities of foods take longer to digest than smaller quantities."

The two hours after exercise are crucial for optimum recovery and repair. Miss this window and our bodies cannot replenish the carbohydrate energy stores in time for tomorrow's workout. It's best to have a meal containing both protein and carbohydrates - the protein for muscle building and repair and the carbohydrate to replenish glycogen stores for the next workout. Glycogen is an energy reserve that the body easily converts to glucose when we need it. Recent research confirms that low-GI carbohydrates are the best choice. While the storage of glycogen may be less than high-GI carbs, the body is better at sparing glycogen in the next exercise session and will instead burn more fat. So that's easy, we should go for low-GI carbs every time.

"The longer we wait to have something to eat after exercising, the longer it takes us to recover!"

Eating out is a big part of modern life. Dinner with family, business lunches, coffee and a muffin with friends, breakfast on the weekend. It's not just because we're busy; there are a lot of delicious choices and going out to eat is great fun. Sure, meals eaten out can be higher in fat, salt and sugar, and the portions are usually larger than those you'd serve at home. But if you're smart about what you order, eating out can be a positive step in improving your nutrition. You can increase your intake of vegetables, increase the variety of foods in your diet, and ensure you get your targeted amount of lean protein. The trick is to order what you want and don’t be scared to ask how dishes are prepared. Most restaurants have a wide variety of dishes and are more than happy to accommodate requests. You don't have to restrict your lifestyle, just a few very simple changes can make a big difference.

(1) Choose grilled, barbecued or baked dishes over fried or roasted ones.

(2) Choose tomato-based or consommé-style sauces rather than creamy ones and ask for dressings on the side so you can control how much you add!

(3) Cut down on the amount you eat by ordering entrée-sized dishes and a side of salad or steamed vegetables!

(4) Choose low-GI carbs whenever possible!

(5) Decide how much you need to eat and stick to it, stopping when you're satisfied rather than when the plate's empty!

• Share cheese or dessert!

Remember, watch your portion size – eating too much is usually the biggest problem.