The biggest mistake people make when they want to change their eating habits is their approach. When someone wants to lose weight, what's the first thing they do? They GO ON a diet. When they go on a diet, they think, what should I sacrifice and how long am I going to do it? Or I'm going to give up pizza and beer for 30 days and lose 10 pounds.
This is the wrong way to do it. From the time you start, you are treating it as a temporary change and in your mind, you are sacrificing, doing something you don't want to do. When you look at it as sacrificing and something you don't want to do, you tend to look at the end of the "diet" as a reward. What is the reward at the end of this diet? In your mind you think "I can't wait until the end of my diet! When it's over, I'm gonna pig out on Pizza and beer! With that mindset, you have already set the table in your mind that this thing is temporary and you will go back to your norm at the end of the 30 days. In other words, you just sacrificed something you love for 30 days for nothing. You might as well have not gone on the diet and enjoyed yourself. If you are going to punish yourself, make the end result positive and permanent!
So you know that you need or want to lose 10 pounds and you know that pizza and beer is causing your extra weight. You want to lose weight but you set your mind up to fail as soon as the time limit, you set, is done. Do you really expect to keep that 10 pounds from coming back? I think we all know the answer to that one.
How about we start off treating the diet as a Noun instead of a Verb. Don't treat a diet as an action you're going to DO for a specific temporary time. Treat THE diet as a menu that you eat to live on a regular permanent basis. Don't approach food as "I can't eat that today, I'm ON a diet". Approach food as "I don't eat that, it's not part of MY diet"
Most people when starting a diet, automatically think of the food they are replacing the pizza and beer with, as bad (not fun or comfort) food. They provide a negative head start in their mind before they even eat it. If your feeling is negative before you even eat what's on the plate, your mind is already conditioned that you will not enjoy it and the final result will be that you don't. So when thinking about a change in your regular diet, first change your mindset. Don’t treat it as a temporary sacrifice, treat it as your permanent daily menu that is a part of your lifestyle. Temporary sacrifice is negativity in your mind, daily menu is positive in your mind, something to look forward to.
With each step you take, over time, it will become normal and help you in cutting out another negative part of your regular daily diet. Each step you progress to, will change your palate, in time, to the point that you won't even miss that food you thought you couldn't live without.
To make it easier when starting out, instead of cutting out a food, try cutting out an add on like sugar or ketchup as your first deduction. It will be easier than cutting out a whole food that you love and will have a major benefit towards your progress in changing your food habits and in turn, changing your lifestyle.
When I was a little boy, people were not nearly as conscious of the bad things they were eating, only that it taste good, even if it was filled with grease or sugary ingredients. When I would sit down for a meal, I would bury what I was eating or drinking in salt or sugar. When I reached my 40's, I cut added sugar and salt out of my diet, cold turkey one day. It was a shock to my system (mind) when I first cut it from my diet. Today, I would gag if I added sugar or salt on my food. I am a much healthier person in my 60's because of that subtraction.
I hope this post helps in your quest to better your lifestyle. Please share your comments below with our community.
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