Don’t Give Up On that Diet!
We say it all the time – we want to lose weight! We start diets, trying every fad we come across on the internet, willing to try anything. The pounds start to fall off and we feel pretty good and then, boom, a bad weekend happens where we go to a few parties, out to eat with friends, or maybe we just get tired and order a pizza. And then, before you know it, you’re gaining back all the weight you worked so hard to lose. Sticking to your diet can seem nearly impossible at times but you can do it. Here’s a few tips for staying with it to drop those pounds quicker.
1. Make sustainable changes
We’ve all heard the wild success stories of people trying fad diets and losing 20 or more pounds in a month. Of course, that sounds appealing but most of the time those diets aren’t conducive to a long-term diet. And we all know that the biggest reason people say “diets don’t work” is because if you revert back to your old eating habits you’ll quickly put the weight back on. Maintaining your weight loss hinges on your ability to maintain a healthy diet long-term so make sure you pick a diet that isn’t going to make you miserable by the second week. It’s much better to lose a lot of weight over a long period of time and keep it off than to lose a big chunk quickly, only to put it right back on again.
2. Get enough variety
If you think you’re going to eat grilled chicken and broccoli every day for the rest of your life, you probably will have a hard time sticking to your diet. Everyone needs some variety to keep things interesting or else you’ll be stopping for fast food on your way home before you know it.
3. Find a diet with foods you like
Of course, we’d all love a diet that lets us eat unlimited pizza and tacos and still lose weight, but we know that that’s not realistic. It is important, however, to make sure that you aren’t going to try to force yourself into enjoying a bunch of foods you know you hate just to lose weight. Find some healthy foods that you actually enjoy eating and you’ll look forward to your dinner rather than dread it.
4. Don’t throw in the towel
This is almost everyone’s downfall – one bad choice leads to a million bad choices and altogether abandoning your diet. If you slip up and go a little too heavy on the snacks one afternoon, it doesn’t mean that the day is ruined, and you should just binge for the rest of the evening. Instead, forgive yourself for your mistakes and start over right at that moment, even if it’s 5 pm. You can still have a good day if you eat right for the rest of the evening. Similarly, if you take a day off for a party or a special occasion, start your diet again the very next morning. Don’t wait until Monday or you might never get back on the way.
Your weight loss is important to you and only you. No one else is going to make the choices for you or hold you accountable to your own goals. If you give up, you are the only one who pays the consequences. Take care of yourself and try to make the best possible choices to treat your body right – you’ll be grateful you did!
