Want to diet more effectively? It’s a long tough road, but when you get to the end you’ll feel and look amazing. To help you out, we’ve put together these 10 motivational quotes that will turn you into a champion dieter in no time at all.

“The groundwork of all happiness is health” – Leigh Hunt

Did you know that people at a healthy weight are generally happier than those who are overweight? According to a study carried out at Leiden University, overweight people are more prone to depression. That means if you stick to your diet and lose weight not only will you look amazing, you’ll also feel much happier in your day-to-day life!

“It took more than a day to put it on. It will take more than a day to take it off.” – Anonymous

Dieting is not an instant process, and that’s why it’s hard. But that’s also why it’s worth doing. Don’t be dismayed when you haven’t dropped four dress sizes in a week, or wonder where your washboard abs are after a day of eating healthily. Results from dieting take time, but when they do come they’re definitely worth it.

“If you keep good food in your fridge, you will eat good food.” – Errick McAdams

This quote goes hand in hand with the classic “never go to the supermarket hungry”. Filling your home with healthy nutritious food is the first step to dieting success, and will get you into the habit of eating healthily quicker than you might think. You’re much less likely to have a sneaky bowl of ice cream if you have to go all the way to the store to buy it.

“It takes five minutes to consume 500 calories. It takes two hours to burn them off.” – Anonymous

One of the pitfalls of dieting is all of your hard work can be undone by one moment of weakness. Next time you’re thinking of reaching for the junk food, just remember every ounce of sweat and determination that has gone into your weight loss so far. Is that muffin really worth throwing all of that away for? The answer is no.

“One must eat to live, not live to eat.” – Jean-Baptiste Poquelin

At the start of your diet you might find yourself desperately counting down the hours until your next meal. However, this feeling will soon pass. When you get into the habit of eating healthily it will become second nature, and that’s when you’ll really start to lose weight.

“Exercising should be about rewarding the body with endorphins and strength. Not about punishing your body for what you’ve eaten.” – Anonymous

If you use exercise as an excuse to cheat on your diet, you’ll never get anywhere. Successful dieters understand that eating healthily and exercising work best when used together, rather than on their own. Just because you’ve been to the gym in the morning, doesn’t mean you can have fast food and chocolate for lunch. All you’ll be doing is eating away your hard work.

“Don’t dig your grave with your own knife and fork” – Old English Proverb

Ask yourself this; why do you want to diet? Is there a hot new guy at the office you want to impress? Were you tagged in a bad picture on Facebook? Those reasons are all well and good if they make you eat well, but when it comes down to it you need to remember that what you eat hugely affects your health. If you eat healthily you’ll feel better, have more energy, and ultimately live longer.

“Your goals, minus your doubts, equal your reality” – Ralph Marston

Dieting is a fantastic thing, because if you do it properly you know that you will reach your goals. The only thing standing in the way of you and a healthy weight is your own doubts, fears and will power. Once you learn to control them it’s simply a case of learning to follow your diet until you reach your target weight and stay there.

“An optimist is a person who starts a new diet on Thanksgiving Day.” – Irv Kupcinet

Whilst there’s technically never a bad time to start a diet, there are definitely some days that will make it harder than others. Give yourself the best possible chance of succeeding by starting your diet on a quiet day when you know that you can control what you eat. Failing your diet instantly by starting it on Christmas day or before a birthday meal in a restaurant will just leave you feeling demotivated before you’ve even begun.

“You don’t drown by falling in water. You drown by staying there” – Anonymous

No matter what weight you’re at now, that’s not an excuse for avoiding dieting. The amount of work you have to put in might be daunting, but it’s never going to get any less until you actually start. Staying at an unhealthy weight is never a good idea, and if you accept your fate all you’re going to do is gain even more. So, are you going to start swimming, or are you going to let yourself drown?