If your goal is to lose fat and incorporate a healthier lifestyle and you rely on a diet to get you there, then the problem lies in the ‘solution’ itself.
Diets don’t work (not in the long run).
A diet is restrictive no matter how you look at it.
Oftentimes, a diet translates into ‘I’m not allowed to eat this or that for a certain period’
What happens after the diet is over?
Can’t wait to go eat ALL the forbidden food (because the restriction is over)
And in no time you’ll be right back where you started.
After trying many diets…the conclusion is that they don’t work. But changes have to be made…so how to break the vicious circle?
(a mention before I dive in: if your goal is to lose weight for a specific event or to fit in a dress, a diet will do. Provided that you will resume your eating habits afterward leading to gaining all the weight back on)
I notice that it’s easy to overlook the bigger picture: when you are on a mission to lose fat ( for good), you are trying to fix more than the weight.
The ultimate goal is not (only) to lose the unwanted fat, but not to regain it afterward. So we are talking about lifestyle changes here.
Here is something to consider for the long-term changes: the present food choices have to do more with the future than with today’s day.
What and how you eat today will not show in the evening, not tomorrow, and not in 2 days, but it will show in 2-3 weeks (or months in some cases)
So it’s not just about the food that you consume or not in a certain period, but all the food that you get to consume indefinitely. It runs deeper than “I can’t have cake, I am trying to lose weight”, you are aiming at building a new relationship with food and your body.
A healthy, strong, and long-lasting relationship can’t (definitely should not) be forced, can’t be toxic, and can’t be based on shame/ punishment/ reward.
Instead of punishing yourself with diets (because why bother, having tried so many and none worked in the way that you wanted them to), have a different perspective on food.
Look at it from a place of power (because in fact, you have all the power, not the food, not someone else who might be offering it to you)
What can this food do for my body?
What (nutritional) value does it bring?
Does it help or burden my body?
If I plan to do a workout, does this food gives me strength and energy or it makes me sluggish and sleepy/ tired?
It becomes your choice rather than your weakness.
And you are empowered. Just by simply taking a few seconds to THINK about what’s in front of you. It’s true what they say: Information is power.
I will not demonize any food in particular, but I’ll leave with one final thing for you to digest (pun intended 
): is the food you eat (quantity, quality and frequency) in line with your goals?
Is your lifestyle in line with how you want to be in 3-6-9-12 months from now?
.
.
.
There are more pieces to complete the puzzle for which I don’t have space in this post, so they will have to come later on.
This is one of the things I work on with my clients in my program Strong & Feminine. They all have different lifestyles, different goals, and different starting points, thus they don’t have the same meal plan.
In fact, there is no strict or set meal plan to speak of (unless specifically required) 
We work together on making healthier choices rather than hunting down calories (that’s a byproduct of it)
I hope you got some good pointers and I welcome your questions
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