Are you a yo-yo dieter?
For years and years I was, going up and down the same 5 lbs time and time again! Then it slowly started to be down 5 lbs, up 6lbs, down 5 lbs, up 6 lbs and I ended up heavier and unhappier EVERY time.
When I look back on it, I remember it all so clearly:
DAY ONE – I was so motivate, excited and committed. This was the time, I was going to stick to it 110% no “bad” food was going to pass these lips. This time I was going to make it.
DAY TWO – the motivation would fade a little, but I was still going strong. Getting up early to get a workout in, eating the salad I had prepped over the weekend.
DAY THREE – I started obsessing about the foods I “COULDN’T” have, and I was starting to grumble about the early mornings.
AND by the end of the week I’d be completely off plan, saying I would start NEXT Monday.
Each “yo-yo” my confidence dropped a little more, my obsession about my weight
and food started to rise more, and the happiness around me seemed to lessen, and in an unconscious way I started to hate myself.
Everything I have ever done has always been “All-or-nothing” dieting included and I am here to tell you IT DOESN’T WORK!
Extreme diets bases on deprivation don’t work, we all need a little “treat” here and there – my weakness is wine – I love to have a glass of wine and if you told me I couldn’t I would have a whole bottle! Losing weight and keeping it off is about a lifestyle change – this means it needs to be something you can sustain long-term.
Yes, removing sugar, processed foods etc is important for your health but if you share a piece of chocolate with your kids that shouldn’t trigger a waterfall effect of eating everything insight! So it isn’t just your nutrition you need to work at, it is your mindset as well. So lets look at some ways to ditch that ALL-OR-NOTHING mentality
1. Find your why … your real why.
I talk about this one a lot, and it’s with good reason: it might just be the one thing that will make the difference between you actually making change and just hoping you’ll make a change. When you get down to the root of why you want to be healthier/lose weight/etc. (and, believe me, it has nothing to do with a swimsuit or size), it resonates. (And it might actually lead you to not care about a silly number and help you to realize your true worth and value … )
If you haven’t already this is a fantastic book to read: The Compound Effect – Darren Hardy
2. Get mindful and trust your body.
Start paying attention to your hunger and fullness cues and honoring them above all else. Our bodies are amazingly wise and intuitive. We just have to listen and trust them.
3. Replace instead of cutting out.
What’s the first thought you have when you’re told you can’t have something?
You want it, right?
So instead of trying to take a bunch of unhealthy foods or habits out of your life, try replacing them with something healthier — ideally, something you genuinely like.
For example when I first removed diet coke out of my diet I replaced it with stevia flavored sparkling water and then slowly reduced the amount of that I was drinking
4. Remove good and bad labels.
Chocolate isn’t bad. Eating chocolate doesn’t make you bad! But eating too many of them gives you a belly ache.
Likewise, snacking on celery because you think it’s a “good” food won’t make you a better person.
Take the guilt — and the halo — off of foods.
Instead, try to choose the healthy foods that you like, that give you the nutrients and energy that your body needs to feel good the majority of the time. (And then, when you do have chocolate, enjoy it!)
5. Remind yourself that you have the power to change.
You know that day 1 feeling? You can have that every day if you focus on one tiny thing that you want to improve.
Don’t try to change it all at once. Focus on one very doable thing, like, say, drinking more water or taking the stairs when you have the opportunity. Then do that thing until it no longer takes any willpower to do it.
Then, do another one. And then another … and another … and another.
6. Practice self love every day.
Forget the scale; put your focus on feeling good. What can you do today to show yourself unconditional self love? Do that. Starting today.
Do you struggle with the all-or-nothing mindset?
What will you do right now to improve it?