Instead of dieting let’s just call it healthy eating where you make small, permanent changes that when done consistently become a new routine. If these changes to your healthy eating are temporary then it can become a cycle of yo-yo dieting with temporary results that can have detrimental affects on your metabolism.
The problem with all-or-nothing dieting is that perfection is the expectation and it sets you up for failure quite easily. Cutting out all sugar, carbs, or fats or even alcohol is quite extreme and often not realistic. All it takes is for one small change in your schedule, a social event that pops up or even a child sick at home that can throw off your healthy eating.
To simplify healthy eating you should aim to improve each of your meals to just “a little bit better”. This could mean switching from a bagel with cream cheese to granola with greek yogurt. Healthy eating is not sexy or exciting. The goal is to pick little changes that you can be successful at doing consistently and then building from that.
Healthy eating isn’t how restricting you are but how consistent your eating is. Healthy eating and the changes like weight loss that come with it take a long time. So be patient, be consistent and aim for just “a little bit better”. You will get there.
So start simple and easy. Don’t beat yourself up if it’s hard at first. Just work towards “a little bit better” and aim for more consistency each week in your healthy eating habits.
For more information on How to Fix A Broken Diet check out our friends at Precision Nutrition. We love their common sense approach to healthy eating.
And as always being active can add in weight loss so check out what we have to offer here at Brush Park.