If you’re trying to lose weight, you probably need help. It is not easy to diet. It is not easy to lose weight. It’s not easy to stick to the restricted options on your diet menu. It’s hard to do it alone. Everyone inevitably needs help.

Here are five great diet tips you can use to help you stick to your diet plan:

1. Try to eat your meals at specific times on a regular basis. Create an eating plan for each day and stick to it, or at least as close to it as possible. One of the best ways to achieve diet success is to change your eating habits. Before you started your diet, your eating habits were probably messy and erratic. When you set fixed times to eat, your body gets used to being hungry and eating at that time. You will be changing your body’s metabolism to accept your new (dietary) regimen so that in a short time it will adapt to your new way of eating. Without having cravings and hunger pangs at different times throughout the day, you will be better able to stick to your diet plan and create a certain pattern for your behavior.

2. Vary your diet menus. One reason you may fail on your diet is because you can quickly get bored with the foods you’re eating all the time. Celery and carrot sticks aren’t the only diet foods or snacks you can have. Look for other options and options that you might enjoy. Consider having a bowl of homemade vegetable soup instead of a salad. How about a spicy vegetarian chili dish or stir fry served over cooked bean sprouts instead of rice or noodles? Explore different cookbooks or websites to find new diet food options. Be creative and make your meals interesting. Try new flavors to awaken your taste buds and enjoy a better food and dietary experience.

3. Never skip breakfast. You’ve always been told that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and this is especially true when you’re on a diet. After your body has spent the night processing all the food you ate the day before, you are HUNGRY. Skipping breakfast can cause you to suffer a “low” in energy, and even brain power. You will feel slow and unable to think. It can also cause you to overeat later. Because your body is so hungry, it can cause you to lose your willpower to stick to your diet. You need to recharge your body for it to function properly. However, breakfast doesn’t have to be a big deal either. You can eat a piece of fruit or even a protein like a chicken breast. Keep in mind, too, that you don’t have to stick to traditional breakfast foods if you don’t want to.

4. Choose to eat at least one all-vegetarian meal at least once or twice a week. Meat is high in protein that your body needs for energy, but it’s also higher in calories. Vegetarian foods can still give you the amount of protein your body needs, without giving you more calories. Consider adding tofu to your menus. Don’t be afraid to add tofu as an ingredient to your meals, even if you haven’t tried it before. It can be hidden inside many dishes so you won’t even know it’s there, but it will still add the protein you need to your meal. Search the web for tofu options. You are sure to find many tasty options.

5. Allow yourself a ‘cheat room’ in your diet. No one is perfect and you need to realize that a little cheating in your diet just means you’re human. The trick is not to take your “cheat” as a reason to scrap your entire diet plan. Get back to normal after your little mistake. A little “cheating” won’t give you back all that you’ve been working for, so it shouldn’t be considered a complete diet flop. And sometimes even a small bite of that delicious dessert can motivate you to stick with your diet.

Using advice from others who have “been there” to help you diet is a great way to get support for continuing your dieting efforts. Hopefully, the above will help you succeed in your weight loss plan.