As you thumb through your Instagram feed, there’s no surprise that many are fully engaged in their New Year’s diets.
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With the human concept of time, thousands feel empowered to start over with the clock and lose that unwanted weight in 2018. But will it last? That’s always the question.
And unfortunately, most of the diets that I see people engaged in will not last because of one word:
Deprivation.
When we focus on what we can’t eat or drink as humans, we can use willpower for a time, but eventually, the reigns will loosen, and we’ll topple over that toffee ice cream or soda.
Here are a few reasons why most of the diets that folks are engaged in right now will fail.
1. The Focus Is On What You Can’t Eat
I know it sounds crazy, but this little shift has always kept me fit, and diet-free. Instead of focusing on what you need to “take out” of your regimen, think about what you can “add in.”
Focus on adding as many nutrient-dense foods into your day as possible.
Plant-based power. For example you could say, “Today I’m going to have a huge green smoothie for breakfast that has 1/2 pound of spinach or kale in it, snack on 4 full pieces of organic fruit throughout the day, drink 1 full gallon of water with lemon today, and then focus on eating 1 full pound of cooked veggies for dinner.”
That’s a lot of nutrition, and chances are when you’re focused on all the food that you can eat- you’ll be thinking very little about stuffing that cookie into your mouth because you’ll be so full from the good stuff.
2. Trying To Do Too Much, Too Fast
The gyms are packed right now – packed with many people doing activities that they hate doing.
You have people trying to work out for a full hour each day that haven’t worked out for a consistent 15 minutes per day in months. It doesn’t sustain itself. Here are a few tips:
Do physical activities that you LOVE. Yes, you heard me. Stuff you LOVE, not just stuff that you tolerate. Hate running on treadmills? No problem.
Play basketball, indoor soccer, do a dance class, run stairs, go hiking or skiing. Make the activity the focus, not the time itself.
Start small and be kind to yourself. I’m not saying don’t push it and give it your all, I’m saying if you haven’t run 1 mile in months, start by walking around the block first at a brisk pace.
Take what I call, “the switchback approach,” which is a means of building up ever so gently.
Focus on the consistent efforts. Put yourself in a position where you can come back day in, day out, and win.
3. You Eat the Way Others Around You Eat
Have you ever known someone who was healthy and fit, and then after meeting a new “less healthy” partner, they adopted the same eating style?
We see it all the time. I have empathy. I really do.
Yet if you want to make lasting change and you have a partner that isn’t healthy, you need to control the food supply for yourself.
This is leadership. It’s not easy. If you want to be the beacon of eating right in your house, you might need to do a straight up toss out session of all the junk food in the house and replace it with healthy options.
Most people will eat what is in front of them and what is convenient.
So make eating fruits and veggies easy. Take 10 minutes in the morning and cut up veggies that can be dipped in something like hummus.
Have pieces of fruit in that bowl in the kitchen instead of pieces of candy.
Have sparkling water with lime or lemon in the fridge that can be enjoyed instead of sugary sodas. Just ask yourself, “What can I replace with this junk item?”
Make it happen. It’s not easy, but it’s possible. I promise you’ve done more difficult things in your life.
