Skip to main content

Dieting – You Need a Change of Mindset

By September 2nd, 2019Health, Lifestyle, Nutrition

Do your results falter as a result of yo-yo dieting? Do you beat yourself up and feel guilty when eating food you think you shouldn’t eat?

It’s time for a change of mindset and how you look at & feel about food.

Mindset is one of the biggest game changers when it comes to your results. One thing that a lot of people struggle with when it comes to ‘dieting’ is mindset. How we feel about food, how we look at healthy eating and why we do what we do.

“I’m going on a diet”

It’s something we hear all the time and possibly something that you tell yourself and/or others on a weekly or monthly basis. This is the beginning of the yo-yoing journey in search of those awesome fat loss results you’re dreaming of.

By telling yourself ‘you’re going on a diet’ you will, in my opinion, subconsciously be coming off it at some point, whether it be a few days or a few weeks, you’ll in all likelihood come off it. Because when we set the mindset of going on a diet we’re usually setting a timescale in the back of our minds. You also often don’t focus on educating yourself about food, positively changing habits over a period of time. Instead people jump on the quick fix approach, short term extreme changes that are often not sustainable. Of course fast results are possible but can be done healthily with long term sustainable change in mind. In our Over Complicate Your Diet? blog we cover sustainability and why we might reach for such extremes.

So you’re ‘dieting’, the first few days have gone well, then bam, you fall of the dieting train. You eat a couple of things you think/know you shouldn’t. Here comes the guilt and beating yourself up. You feel like you’ve failed and say “I’ve ruined it now” and believing this spend the next few days smashing in the junk food. It temporarily makes you feel better. The way I describe this is short term gain for long term pain. After a few days here it comes again ‘I’m going on a diet’. An unhealthy relationship with food and an unhelpful cycle of yo-yoing dieting that’s not achieving the results you’re longing for.

The main thing is that you find the approach that helps you with adherence. There’s no point going to extremes of 600 calories a day for example or a meal replacement, when it isn’t sustainable. Sure you might see some initial results. But what happens when you stop doing that? You revert back to your original eating habits.

For fat loss in simplest terms you need to be in a calorie deficit. That doesn’t have to be a crazy calorie deficit, it needs to be a calorie reduction that’s maintainable. Equally when creating a calorie deficit we shouldn’t be compromising health.

Think of the word ‘diet’ as ‘your’ diet. However good, bad or indifferent, it’s ‘your’ diet. Look at it as your nutritional lifestyle. Some people are ready for an overhaul, a complete change. But if you’re not no worries. Make some gradual changes, don’t overwhelm yourself, overwhelming yourself will make things harder.

So focus on the majority of your food intake containing whole foods. Work on an 80/20 rule across the week. 80% of the week = whole foods and good planning & preparation. 20% (if needed) can be used for foods that might not feed in to your goals and results as much but assist you in adhering to the 80%. It gives you that little bit of flexibility meaning you don’t have to feel guilty or beat yourself up. For sure there needs to be some accountability in ensuring you do the 80% but it’s about being realistic. You’re potentially going to put unrealistic pressure on yourself with an expectation of being 100%, 100% of the time. If you can have weeks that are 100% then fantastic but it’s not something you need to worry about too much if you don’t.

As always, if you have any questions do not hesitate to drop us an email at james@optimum3.co.uk We’re here to help.

And don’t forget we offer a FREE no obligation consultation if you’re considering having a professional help you achieve the results you’re looking for.

Eat Well. Move Well. Live Well

Unlock Your Body’s Full Potential

James & the Optimum3 Team

 

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.