Ever notice that as soon as you put your foot down and declare that you are on a diet all you can think about is food? For me and many others diets can be used to lose that 5 or 10 pounds but those 5 to 10 pounds seem to quickly find their way back on. One problem is where most diets put the emphasis. Most diets tell you what not to eat first so naturally you start thinking about all that good stuff you shouldn't be eating. The other problem is that most people try a diet that is very different from what they normally eat. This also makes you constantly think of food and what to cook next. All this focus on food it is easy to see why you always feel hungry. This also leads to creating a count down to when the diet is over so you can go back to not worrying about food anymore. Of course as soon as the diet changes the pounds find their way back and the cycle continues.
Of course healthy eating is important for you health and mental state.(it's amazing how much better you feel about yourself when you eat right) The answer... life style change. Although this sounds scarier then the diet it has many benefits including getting off the diet cycle. You can implement small changes slowly so you're not always thinking about food. You can also put more emphasis to add good things into your diet instead of what you are taking away. For example try to add more vegetables to your diet by adding carrot sticks to your lunch or a salad. This puts more focus on the good things you are eating instead of all the things you are cutting out. Slow changes also lead to permanent changes. Slow changes also help you see what kinds of things work for your body. You might find that you feel better when you add a vegetable to you dinner and that it helps you to feel fuller longer. Remember everyone is different so slow changes allow you to see what works and to change things that don't. If you work to make good changes you won't always have to cycle between diets. Another benefit is not getting upset over cheat days. Since nothing is banned from your diet you can go out for your birthday or night out without feeling like you need to start all over. Typically if you eat well most of the time even when you are not eating the best things you won't feel the need to binge. As a rule of thumb you can aim to eat healthy 80% of the time and cheat 20%. This helps as a guide to keep you on the right track without feeling like your constantly on a diet. This also helps to decrease the stress that comes with diets.
Although you might not lose weight as fast as you would on a diet the results you do have will last and you might find over time you lose more than you would on a diet, feel better, and have less stress. I like to think of food as a tool and look into ways I can make my food help me live a better and healthier life. Instead of "living to eat"work on thinking of it as eating to live! Of course that doesn't mean that you can't enjoy food rather just be more conscientious of what you are putting into your body.I'm very passionate about this topic so keep checking back every week for more information on how to help you make lifestyle changes.
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