Maintaining Motivation with a New Diet
So, the day arrives and we actively start our diet. We are at the gym and eating all the right food. And, in some cases, after a week, our motivation lags, and our hope for successful weight loss fails. We stop going to the gym. We start eating all the greasy fat food we can find. And, then we are back in the mirror pulling, prodding, and lying to ourselves about starting a new diet.
Why do we let this happen and how can we overcome it?
One of our biggest challenges of staying consistent and motivated during a diet is the fact that we don’t see instant results. We eat all the healthy food, but the scale does not budge, and only makes us lose hope because there has been no progress. It is not a good idea to stop. For some people it takes awhile before the body begins to shed pounds. The idea is to stick with it and continue to eat healthy and exercise. At this point, we have to stay positive and remember that good things normally take awhile to surface. Try to enjoy the other benefits of a good diet like having more energy and knowing in the long run your dietary choices will pay off.
“I feel great whenever I exercise. It gives me more confidence and makes me feel in control of something in my life,” advised Cassandra.
Another issue may be the fact that some of us decide to try extreme diets that require complete and total restructuring of our current diet. We as dieters need to firstly have a reasonable diet. No water fasting or starvation diets. I would pick a diet that can be maintained after the weight is lost or something reasonable to your current lifestyle.
I also firmly believe that people should have a chance to “cheat” at east once at some point during the week. There should be an award maybe a day at the spa, new shoes, or whatever gives you instant gratitude that does not involve a bad food choice. We should also keep a diet log. And, try to figure out when we get hungry and why we grab the greasy fries and pizza for lunch. Write down everything you eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and everything in between.
This will also help you identify if you are an emotional eater. Do you eat when you are confused or upset? What triggers your “Bad Eating” habits? Write it down and keep a journal for records. Mapping out your diet habits will help you maintain your healthy diet.
“I often eat when I feel bad about something. I gained 10 pounds once after a really bad break up,” explained Shawn.
This is normal for people because food can be comforting and unfortunately the ones that comfort us the most are fattening.
Here are some tips:
– Get an exercise buddy to join you on long walks or at the gym
– Carry healthy snacks at all times (this will help when you need a quick food fix)
– Continue on with your diet even if you happen to go astray
– Set reasonable goals (The weight did not come on over night so it will not fall off over night)
– Be your own motivational coach, remain positive, don’t compare yourself to others and visualize
yourself maintaining the diet
– Keep a food journal
