How Your Mindset Impacts Your Dieting Success
This post is brought to you by our sponsor, “Always Eat After 7 PM”. The opinions expressed below are my own.
When it comes to dieting there are many mistakes that are made on a near daily basis. While there are many real profound mistakes that go along with the territory there are a few that seem to have far more profound and lasting implications than others. Hopefully by learning about these mistakes you can learn to avoid them in your own weight loss pursuits.
Perhaps the single largest mistake that dieters make is adopting an all or nothing attitude. These are the dieters that scour the pantry and the refrigerator removing anything that could be seen as a potential source of temptation. They embark on a dietary regimen that is nearly impossible to maintain and believe that all is lost the moment they stray from the strict guidelines of their diet.
These things are what have derailed me from my past success.
But beyond that? My goals weren’t always aligned. That’s why I changed my goals after reading Always Eat After 7 PM.
While you do not want to set goals that are impossible to achieve you should also avoid the opposite end of the spectrum, which involves having no goals at all. Those who set aggressive goals that are achievable will see the greatest degree of success.
So far? I still like what I see in the mirror.
Staying in the Zone for My Dieting Success
When it comes to dieting, far too many people set themselves up for failure before they even begin the process. They literally dread going on their diets and before they start the process are planning their mishaps along the way. Sad to say but true, far too many would be dieters are planning their first Rocky Road mishap while eating their last bowl of Rocky Road before the big event.
I have no idea why we tend to do this to ourselves but it is something I see in dieters everywhere.
The far too popular notion is that one must binge on the foods most loved and enjoyed before beginning the dieting process because these things must be completely eliminated in order to shed those unwanted pounds. If you are honest with yourself, nothing could be further from the truth. Moderation is simply a concept that many of us are loathe to embrace.
You must change your way of thinking about food and your personal enjoyment of food in order for any diet you embrace to be successful. Food isn’t the enemy. And that is something that not enough people really understand. Even the ‘tasty’ foods aren’t the enemy. The enemy is your personal inability to properly portion the foods you eat. The problem is that the vast majority of us eat the wrong foods far more often than we eat the right foods. This is where the problems lie.
Our bodies need the nutrients we are lacking by not eating the five servings of vegetables and three servings of fruit each day that we should consume. Our bodies know that something is missing and we feel hungry or deprived. If we were actually consuming the proper balance of fruits and veggies each day we would find that we were far less likely to feel hungry and desire those foods that aren’t as healthy.
This means we would be much more likely to enjoy them in moderation as they should be enjoyed. That’s why I’m so thankful that I finally found a diet program that I can stick with.
Portion control is another problem that we have. We live in a society of “up selling”. Super sized fries and empty calories by the gallon of your favorite cola are offered with almost every fast food meal that can be bought. You must learn to say no to these things and avoid situations in which you may feel tempted to partake in these up sized orders.
To be truly successful when dieting you need to embrace the process as building a healthier you rather than depriving yourself of something. Do not think of your weigh loss plan as something negative but rather a positive force in your life to make changes for the better. When you have negative thoughts do not direct them at your diet. When you feel deprived remind yourself that you are depriving your bones of carrying around that excess weight. Remind yourself that you are depriving your wardrobe of those bulky clothes that are designed to hide the bulges.
Remind yourself that you are depriving your body of years of bulges and bringing back the body of your youth.
Do not get so caught up in the dieting process that you forget to enjoy some of the goodies that life has to offer. Watching your weight and counting your calories does not mean that you can never go over your allotment. The goal however is to find balance. If you learn to portion your food correctly, indulge in moderation, and incorporate enjoyable calorie burning activities into your daily routine you may be amazed at the results.
When either incoming energy or body fat stores start to decline (as is often the case on low-carb or low-calorie fat loss diets), a series of reactions is set off in the body. As your leptin levels decline, you’ll experience a downward spiral of negative side effects
How Always Eat After 7 PM Has Helped Me Meet My Goals
Another great mistake when it comes to dieting is selecting a diet plan where you eat the same thing every day. Despite our human need for structure and routine we tend to enjoy changing our lunch routine on occasion. Select a diet or new nutrition plan that allows you to enjoy a wide variety of foods rather than one that limits you to the same meal or meal selection day in and day out.
Other common mistakes include depriving yourself of everything you enjoy. One thing that we often forget is the importance of moderation. Fill up on servings of fruits and vegetables but allow yourself to enjoy the occasional indulgence for the sake of sanity. If you never allow yourself to enjoy a taste of chocolate, why on earth would you want to live forever? Seriously, do not forget to enjoy food for the sake of dieting. There is nothing wrong or sinful about enjoying food. The problem lies when you enjoy only the wrong sorts of foods.
I love the food ideas and recipes because it doesn’t feel like I’m having to make great sacrifices! In fact, it’s just being more sensible with the food choices that I do make. And, let’s face it- any diet plan that lets me have cherries and ice cream? Yes, please.
So much easier than trying to restrict.
Always Eat After 7 PM: The Revolutionary Rule-Breaking Diet That Lets You Enjoy Huge Dinners, Desserts, and Indulgent Snacks—While Burning Fat Overnight by Joel Marion is now available to purchase.
Learn more about the book and how to purchase here.
Kori
Latest posts by Kori (see all)
- 9 Tips For Keeping Your Home Allergy Free - December 10, 2024