There comes a time in everyone’s life where they bear down and stick to the plan. It’s brutal, it’s militant, and it’s stressful. The scale is with you everywhere. You slice out every section of fat possible on any source of meat. You go grain-free and stick with just sweet potatoes or an all egg white diet. It’s craziness! Why so intense?
There are some people that need to weigh everything and remain 100% strict on their diet to lose the weight. However, in most cases you can keep things fairly basic. There’s no need to remove all flavor from food and end up with plain chicken breast and a sweet potato. Dieting is meant to be enjoyable, otherwise it seems to end up with an entire pie being consumed with a gallon of ice cream. Aim to maintain a balance, but also aim for sanity.
Tips for dieting success:
- Know your caloric intake. Start logging your food and the quantity to determine how many calories you consume in a given day. Monitor this for one full week to establish a baseline. This will help ensure you have a good starting point and know how many calories you need to cut to lose weight.
- Know your tolerances. This is getting even more important, but even more overdone these days. EVERYONE seems to think they have a gluten intolerance. This is possible due to the constant altering structure of wheat and the altered digestion. However, to think that over 70% of the population has a gluten intolerance is insane. Seriously, ask 10 people, chances are they try to avoid wheat due to bloating or some other reason. Either way, know what you can and cannot handle.
- Clean out your cupboards. Temptations do not need to lurk around the corner. You need to eliminate foods that are not on your plan. There’s no need to risk failing on your diet for a twinkie (besides the twinkie is once again safe).
- Have a cheat meal. This is an all out cheat meal. I wouldn’t plan for a buffet trip every week, but if you went once you’ll know that the buffet cheat meal really hurts. Not just mentally but physically. All of that food trying to digest, you just feel sick. Plan for a meal out with your significant other and/or friends. Have a dessert at the end. Feed your cravings.
- Create a diet challenge. The more the merrier! Have a nice prize involved at the end. All involved can pay for you to go to a spa as the prize. Or get some fancy new clothes to show off your new look.
Plan your diet but don’t go crazy. Keep the spices in your diet, they do not account for a ton of calories. Your exercising body will enjoy the sodium too! Don’t use the old “eyeballing” trick for food, but you don’t have to weigh everything. A measuring cup for your carb sources is fine. You could weigh out your meat sources, but you do not have to. Enjoy the diet and it can be a lifelong lifestyle. Turn it into a militant diet and you’ll want out within a few days.
