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The Top 10 Things to Tell Yourself When You’re Struggling to Start Your Diet

guss

guss

MuscleHead
Aug 11, 2010
380
189
By: Christy Lauren Poole

1)There will NEVER be a perfect time to start

The typical thing people always ask me is ‘when should I start because I have “blah blah blah” coming up or “but I just want to have one more weekend of ‘freedom’”. The bottom line I tell them is ‘Start TODAY’. If you don’t you’re always going to find SOMETHING that will hold you back from starting your diet. Even if you think you’ve found that ‘perfect window’ to hide out and diet, something will always find its way into your life to disrupt your perfect schedule. The point of dieting is to make it enjoyable and manageable enough that it becomes a way of life. So even when you’re in the midst of a diet, you’ll still find ways to stay on track WHILE enjoying the event.

2)Clean House

As typical and obvious as this sounds; it really is the best way to start fresh. If you’re lucky enough to have the option to have your kitchen space to yourself, clean out your cupboards and replace all your go to sweets with go to clean eats. Knowing that all the “junk” is out of your house will help you to stay focused and gets your head in the right mind set.

3)Invest in a new kitchen gadget!

While your cleaning house and replacing junk for good food, treat yourself with a new kitchen tool to help make your prep a little bit easier and perhaps more fun! It can be anything from a food processor you’ve had your eye on to make Cauliflower Rice to even as simple as a new spatula to whip up your egg whites. Using something ‘new’ always stimulates your brain mentally to make a positive change and feel good. Making it an item to help you with your diet is a step in the right direction.

4)Explore New Recipes and Plan Ahead

Just like you’ll have to prepare yourself mentally to get your focus on lock, prepare your meal plan to keep you excited and incorporate variety into your diet. The only way to guarantee a diet will ‘last’ the longest is to offer variety for your taste buds. At this point in the game, there are an UNLIMITED amount of Clean Eating recipes, cookbooks, articles, tips and tricks to spice up your diet while keeping your calories low and all your necessary macronutrients in check. Planning your meals in advance weekly will give you something to look forward to that’s not ice cream.

5)Don’t let others try to sabotage your game plan!

I still to this day do not understand why people do this, but they are always trying to offer me sweets when they KNOW that I’m dieting and their favorite phrase is “C’mon just a bite, just try it!!” Just typing that sentence makes me think of nails on the chalk board. Don’t let them dictate YOUR body and what YOU put into it. The facts are, unless its laced with some magical new food group yet to be discovered by mankind, you probably already know what it taste like and can pass.

6)It Will Still be There When You’re Done Dieting

Let’s face it, they’ve been making those ungodly unnatural Twinkies since the dawn of time (actually 1930) and no one is going to stop. There isn’t going to be an announcement after you’ve reached your goal and are ready to change to ‘off season’ or ‘maintenance’ dieting that all the fast food factories aren’t going to shut down and halt all production lines of HO-HOs. So relax. It’ll still be there for you to enjoy once you’ve reached your goal. Wait till you can at least look HOT eating that Twinkie!

7)If You’re Thinking About Dieting You Shouldn’t be Thinking About Food

Whether you’re gearing up for another killer contest prep, or you’re just hoping to lose some body fat the point is, if you’re thinking about the diet you’re not ‘satisfied’ with your bodies current state. Use that thought process to focus on the diet and your new workout routine instead of how good treats taste. Remember: Nothing TASTE as good as being FIT FEELS!

8)Remember What it FEELS Like to Be Lean!

Along with the thought process above, there is NOTHING better than looking at old pictures and remember just how FANTASTIC you felt during your last prep/diet. Your body was a well oiled machine consuming the perfect macronutrient ratio to let you run lean and mean and purr like a 1969 Chevelle. Focus back to a memory when you were dieting that you just felt FANTASTIC and unstoppable; now lock in on THAT and forget the negative thoughts when you hear the word DIET.

9)Get those SKINNY JEANS out!

While we’re looking back at pictures, it’s time to revisit the ‘skinny’ section of your closet to mentally stimulate yourself with those clothes you LOVED to rock while being lean. You know the items I’m talking about. The rigorously colorful tube tops that make your torso look long and mean or the low riding jeans that lift your butt in just the right degree that you swear you could crack a bottle open off your butt cheek. Whatever your favorite outfit was, get it out. And keep trying it on till you fit in it again!

10)Take It One Day at a Time!

Lastly, just like Rome wasn’t built in a day, you’re not going to drop 30lbs in the first two weeks of being back on your diet. Don’t look at how many weeks out you are or how long you have to be dieting for or even how far off track you went this time. This will only set you up for fear and failure. Focus on tackling one perfect day at a time, then another, then another, and before you know it you’ve arrived at your destination. VICTORY!

With these Top 10 Tips, hopefully you’re a bit more confident and motivated to get back on track. You enjoyed your break, perhaps made some impressive gains in the off season, but now it’s time to let that body show us what you’re working with. Like a diamond in the rough, it’s time to shine that puppy up and put a bow on it and give it as a gift to the rest of the world.
 
AllTheWay

AllTheWay

TID Lady Member
Mar 17, 2011
4,240
411
it is always so much easier to read it or write it than it is to actually do it! :D but there is truth to all of it. i think the best thing is to conquer one thing at a time. otherwise most of us are setting ourselves up for failure. get into the routine of working out first. then start cutting things out, then adding things in etc etc. life is busy, dont make it overwhelming.
 
W

Wolf

MuscleHead
Dec 25, 2010
274
45
One thing I would add is to remember that one tiny slip up can not erase a day of dieting and does pretty much nothing in terms of damage when you've dieted for a whole week already. There are some people who will eat a cookie, panic, think that their whole diet is ruined and then binge until they can't eat anymore. If you've created a 7000 calorie deficit in a weeks time even a slip up of 500 calories because you couldn't resist temptation is a paltry 7 percent in terms of what you've lost. But some people will binge their way to undoing 30,40 or 50 percent of what they've lost because of a tiny slip up.
 

ajdos

Friends Remembered
Sep 8, 2010
2,282
399
Once I hit a certain level of bodyfat on a diet where I start to look lean, its on, then all the suffering is worth the way Im looking.
 
acon83

acon83

TID VIP Lady Member
Jul 6, 2011
454
39
Great read, and very true! I should post those top 10 on my fridge...Maybe I'll read that and NOT reach for the ice cream (or beer)
 
Ogre717

Ogre717

TID Official Lab Rat
Jul 22, 2011
1,649
665
Starting is the most challenging part. after you get back into the good habbits and the results start to show through it just gets easier.
 
alyse

alyse

TID Lady Member
Aug 27, 2011
45
1
Consistency is the hardest part for me. Specially when I cook for everyone and they don't want what Mom is eating. It get hard. But I try!
 
400Lb Gorilla

400Lb Gorilla

MuscleHead
Jul 27, 2011
3,435
359
excellent read guss. and i definitely agree with Wolf on the not letting a slip up derail your diet. if you had half a pizza on Saturday oh well get back on track Sunday..... then hit the gym and slaughter those calories you took in.
 
ShortzMcD

ShortzMcD

TID Lady Member
Nov 15, 2011
18
1
Great list! Everything is so true...
It does get hard staying motivated but I think once you start seeing actual results it makes things easier!

Does anyone else get annoyed with friends, family etc who try swaying you to the bad side?
 
A

Anna_lev

TID Lady Member
Oct 7, 2010
41
1
Getting staarted is the hardest part for me. Once Im into it 2 or 3 weeks Im in for the long haul.
 
Sedoj

Sedoj

TID Lady Member
Aug 27, 2013
51
7
My journey through fitness didn't stop once I hit my goal weight. Lately I've really been struggling with staying on my nutrition plan. For me, I strive for consistency and try not to let small slip ups to get me down. When I make a bad choice I aim to make the next one better. Baby steps... lots of good and a little bad still gets results.
 
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