November 28th, 2008 — healthy eating, motivation, trigger food
Starting a diet can be a momentous event and most of us going into it with the best intentions. We want to lose weight and we want to look and feel better, at least for the first few days. Three days in however, and you may be ready to completely chuck your diet so that you can go back to eating real food again.
There are a few keys that will help you avoid cheating on your diet. You can employ any number of them to assist, but remember, even if you do end up cheating a little, it's not the end of the world. Call it a day and start your diet again. It's only a problem if you give up and lose focus. Let's go over a few of these keys that will help you avoid cheating.
1. Don't start a deprivation diet.
Strict diets usually get fast results initially, but these are usually wiped out if you cave to intense cravings. If you know that you have a hard time giving up your favorite foods, don't doom yourself to failure by starting a deprivation diet. Instead, find ways to simply eat less of these foods. You won't end up feeling as though your cravings are controlling your life.
2. Allow yourself a little wiggle room.
You'll need to have pretty good discipline for this to work, but your diet will be much more successful if you allow yourself a little freedom here or there. If you simply must have ice cream, than allow yourself to have one small portion every few days. Just make sure you can keep it to that portion or you will have sabotaged yourself.
3. Set up rewards.
One of the best ways to avoid cheating on your diet is to set up a rewards system with your goals. Just make sure that the rewards are not food related. For example, once you reach your first five pounds lost, go get a manicure, or do something that you really enjoy. This helps keep you motivated, even when the going is tough. It gives you something else to focus on and makes it easier to stay focused.
4. Stop kicking yourself.
You can preprogram yourself to fail if you believe that you cannot do something. Instead of saying that you can never stick to a diet and always end up cheating, tell yourself that you can do this. When the going gets tough, keep repeating "I can do this." If you do it often enough, you'll start to believe it and you'll be able to make it a reality.
5. Avoid known problem areas.
If you have a hard time sticking to your diet when you go out with friends, it's time to evaluate your activities. Stay away from restaurants where you know it's going to be tough to stay on your diet. Give up going to the bar every week. You'll be able to see results in less time and you'll be able to avoid the traps that always derail you.
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November 25th, 2008 — Meals, healthy eating, trigger food
One of the main things that keeps people from trying low fat foods is the fact that a lot of them taste, well, pretty bad. It's all too easy to brush it off as "rabbit food," and convince yourself that you need real food. However, there are many low fat foods that are actually quite flavorful and there are methods that you can use that can enhance flavors without adding fat. Low fat food doesn't have to taste awful and we'll show you how you can actually start enjoying it with a few tips.
Let's look at a popular low fat food, skim cottage cheese, that is high in protein and very helpful for anyone that is on a diet. If you're used to eating regular cottage cheese, or none at all, the flavor in the skim or fat free variety can be a bit off. Try adding a little black pepper on top, or even some paprika. If you like it spicy, try adding a little shot of Tabasco sauce to it. Look for seasonings that are fat free and that will add to the flavor of your low fat cottage cheese.
Now, let's move onto low fat cereal. In some cases, it may be better to call it low fat cardboard. The same is true with low fat chips. They really can taste a little flat and pretty unappetizing. If you're eating low fat cereal and barely choking it down, try adding a little Splenda to it. This is a great calorie free sweetener that can really help and it doesn't affect your blood sugar as opposed to Nutrasweet or saccharin. You can also try using vanilla flavored soy milk instead of regular milk. You'll be getting the benefits of soy protein and the vanilla flavor helps mask the tastelessness of the cereal. For fat free chips, try dipping them in fat free salsa. Once again, you're tricking your tastebuds and it really does work.
Salsa is a great additive for a lot of foods that can spice things up without adding any fat. Use it on lean chicken to make it less boring, or add it to some celery for an extra kick. Anytime you would normally use high fat dip, replace it will fat free salsa. This gives you that feeling of being able to enjoy dipping foods without the guilt.
The main key is retraining your palette. Let's face it, high fat foods taste pretty good and that's why they are so hard to quit. However, here's an experiment you can try. Eat low fat foods for one month and then allow yourself a small sample of the foods you used to enjoy. Chances are, that high fat food is going to taste pretty awful. You'll be able to literally taste the oil and it may even make you a bit nauseous. The human palette is highly trainable and if you can convince it that low fat tastes better, you'll never be in danger of falling off the wagon again.
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October 2nd, 2008 — Weight Loss Journal, diet, exercise, goals, healthy eating, moderation, motivation, weight loss
If you’re trying to lose weight but finding it nearly impossible, it may not be that you are to blame. Is your diet really the culprit? In many cases, failing on a diet doesn’t mean that you have no willpower or that you are incapable of losing weight. It just means that you may not have picked the diet plan that was right for your needs.
Each body is different and requires different nutrients and a different balance. This is why one person can lose 100 pounds on a low carb diet, and another may gain five pounds. It all boils down to knowing your body, and knowing which kind of diet will work best for you. In most cases, this means consulting with either your physician or a dietitian that will be able to assist you in finding the balance that your body needs. However, there are some basic guidelines you can follow that will help you find the right diet.
1. Are the food choices simply abhorrent to you?
Every year, thousands of people go on specialized food plans with prepackaged meals and then wonder why they fail. Unless the food tastes good, it’s going to be very hard to adjust. It’s simply too easy to chuck those prepackaged cardboard meals and head for the real food. Bottom line – if you can’t stand the food, you won’t be able to stand the diet. This goes for chalky shakes, nasty protein bars and every other kind of awful diet food out there.
Find a diet plan that uses foods you like, or at least foods that you can grow to like. For example, if you have a fondness for fried chicken, you can probably develop a taste for some low fat lemon chicken. If you like chocolate cake, there are little 100 calorie snack choices out there that will soothe your sweet tooth. The key is finding a diet that is easy to stick to, especially at first. When you actually enjoy the food, it’s a lot easier to get mentally pumped up about the diet.
2. The exercise is simply impossible.
A lot of diet plans integrate workout routines that may not be suited for those that are just getting started on the road to fitness. It is just too easy to say “I can’t,” when in reality, you can, just not at that level. It is vital to find a workout routine that is graduated, allowing you the time to get used to the exercise the healthy way.
3. There is no support system.
A diet plan that leaves you feeling alone in the wilderness, while you watch your family and friends feasting away is not a diet plan you are going to be able to stick to. Look for a support system or find a way to get your family to join in your quest for health. You’ll all be better for it and it will be much easier to stick to the plan when you aren’t staring down the barrel of a prime rib dinner everyone else is eating.
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