In part one we talked mostly about things we are willing to do to ourselves to gain confidence and feel better about ourselves- which included crazy workout routines and fad diets. This time I want to dive in a little deeper and talk about why these fad diets don’t work and how we can better approach changes. When we make changes it should be healthy changes and we have to learn how to be patient- you didn’t get where you are overnight and you aren’t going to get where you want to be overnight!
Keeping patience in mind the best way to start is by slowing changing your bad habits by elimination or replacement. You can eliminate your nightly popcorn, by brushing your teeth to prevent snacking or you can replace it with veggies and hummus. The worst thing you can do is go cold turkey- can you see yourself NEVER eating popcorn again? Can you see yourself NEVER eating out, or NEVER having alcohol, or NEVER having sweets? Then why would you try to cut them out completely? Get a plan to ease your way into moderation with the items you know shouldn’t be in your diet most of the time.
When you restrict yourself you feel deprived and at some point will cave.
Studies have shown (can’t quote because I read it in a magazine and I forgot which one) that when you deprive yourself of temptations it is harder for you to stop when you finally do allow yourself to have a reward. This can lead to binge eating or spiraling out of control completely. Please don’t do that to yourself, take small actionable steps that are realistic for you and stick to them BEFORE you progress. You need to know that you can achieve a goal for yourself before you make it more intense. It is also a known statistic that 80% of people that go on any type of “diet” gain their weight back and some gain more than they lost.
Don’t be impatient- do what is healthy for the one body you are given. Take your time, make small steps, and stay away from gimmicks that are misleading.
