As summer nears, many people are trying to lose weight. Although healthy eating and exercise has always been the safest and best way to achieve your weight loss goals, the prevalence of extreme fad diets has encouraged individuals to forgo rationality. From the ketogenic diet to the Atkins diet, not every popular dieting plan works — or is good for you. If you want to discover whether or not your lifestyle diet plan is actually healthy, ask yourself the following questions.

Is Your Diet Meeting Your Micronutrient Needs?

Micronutrients are small compounds needed in minimum amounts to enable the body to produce enzymes, hormones, and other substances essential for healthy growth and development. They include most vitamins and minerals, such as iron, calcium, and sodium. Although it’s possible to lose weight without meeting your micronutrient needs, you won’t feel great during the process.

Is Your Diet Improving Your Overall Health And Wellbeing?

You may have started a diet to drop 10, 20, or 50 lbs, but you shouldn’t sacrifice your health to do that. A healthy diet will make you feel good while also optimizing objective health measures, like your body composition and blood work. If your diet is impairing your quality of life by causing stress and suffering, then adjustments should be made. It’s also important to remember that even if you feel great, blood tests may indicate that you are worsening your health; therefore, it’s vital that you track both your subjective experience and your objective results.

Is Your Diet Helping You Sustain Your Results, Health, And Wellbeing For The Long-term?

Many diets can offer you short-term results, but only truly healthy diets will help you maintain your body indefinitely. If you can’t imagine yourself sticking to a diet that meets the above criteria and making a true lifestyle change, you are almost guaranteed to slip back into your old eating habits, thereby regaining the weight you lost.

If you are unable to answer “yes” to these questions, it may be time to make a change. By seeking out a nutritionist or signing up for a professional weight loss program, you can be sure that you’re able to meet all your nutritional goals while also shedding those pesky lbs. Approximately 70% of people believe that a strong support system is essential to achieving your diet goals; if you team up with a nutritionist, you’ll be amazed at the difference it makes.