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Earlier this week, I posted The Common Sense Diet. I like to think of it as an introductory diet in the sense that it won't necessarily help you lose weight, but it will definitely make you a little bit healthier (or a lot). Today I thought it would be helpful to discuss the key to any successful diet.

Some people say all you have to do is change your eating habits. Others say you have to change your entire lifestyle. I say both of those are good in theory, but terrible in practice. The vast majority of people are simply incapable of changing their lifestyle, and as a result, incapable of changing their eating habits. Some people can and many people do, for a little while, but most people simply can't do it. This is why so many people fail at dieting. They don't address the easiest problem to fix.

Don't try to change your eating habits. Change your buying habits.

Stop thinking of your diet from a lifestyle standpoint or an eating habits standpoint. Think only about what you buy. I don't care how much you want to eat healthy. The fact of the matter is that when you are really hungry and you have junk food available to you, you are going to eat it.

If you have food in your house that fails the Common Sense Diet tests, throw it away. You will find this much easier to do on a full stomach, so eat a meal of junk and then throw the rest away. Then, the real key to a successful diet happens. When you are not hungry, go to the grocery store and buy only healthy food. If the only food available to you is healthy food, then you are going to eat healthy. Eventually you will be hungry enough to eat food you don't really enjoy, and eventually you will start to enjoy it. It's that simple. Sure, you will probably still need to address the fast food issue when you aren't home, but by simply changing your buying habits, your diet will automatically change.

Don't worry so much about your eating habits. Change your buying habits.