How many times have you started a diet and not been able to achieve the results you wanted? For those of you who have said you've achieved your goals, have you been able to sustain these results?
Dieting for weight loss, weight gain, performance, and everything in between is difficult. We first need to achieve our goals, then we need to sustain them. Doing one is a challenge, but doing both can be incredibly difficult.
Top 10 Tips for Staying Committed
Sticking to a diet might be difficult, but it's not impossible. "Fail to prepare, prepare to fail". This quote can't be more true than it is for dieting.
Here are 10 tips on how you can stay committed to your diet!
1) Eat Sufficient Amounts of Protein
Protein is known for its role in building and maintaining muscle mass. What it's less known for is its satiating effect. Eating a high-protein diet can help you modulate food intake and stop you from going off track.
As a general rule of thumb, aim for 1.6-2.2g of protein per kilogram body weight, per day. If counting macros isn’t your thing, aim to include a good source of protein with each meal. Foods high in protein include chicken, turkey, eggs, tofu, and beans.
2) Meal Plan
Schedules are a huge part of our lives. We plan our days to ensure we maximize our time and get the most out of each day. Planning our diets works just the same. Create a meal plan and shopping list to give your diet some order.
If we’ve put in the work to plan a healthy diet, we’re less likely to steer off course and pick up that convenient, but unhealthy, meal or snack.
At the start of the week, create a plan and prep your meals so they’re ready to go whenever you are.
3) Share Goals with Friends and Family
Sharing a goal helps keep us accountable and motivated. Tell someone you trust about your diet plan. They can help you when you don’t feel like sticking to your plan.
Letting your loved ones know about your goals can ensure they are doing all they can to help you. Even if that means not sharing that weekly takeout.
4) Eat Whole Foods
There’s nothing like eating good, healthy, whole foods. Whole foods are rich in fiber, vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients that support a healthy body.
Whole foods are typically dense in nutrients and high in volume, which helps with curbing hunger cravings. Whole foods include fruits, vegetables, grains, and proteins.
5) Consume a Suitable Diet
Sustainability plays a huge role in successful long-term diets. Extreme calorie deficit diets can lead to rapid weight loss, but it’s very rarely sustained.
Whatever your goal, only make small changes over time. Small changes also don’t seem as daunting as massive lifestyle changes. If your goal is weight loss, start by reducing your current portion sizes. Then, aim to include more whole foods in your diet. One step at a time.
6) Eliminate Temptations
“You are a product of your environment”. Our surroundings often influence our behaviors and actions.
If our lifestyle involves regular trips to the local takeout or pub, chances are it’s going to be hard to eat a healthy diet. If we keep the kitchen stocked up on unhealthy foods, it’s also going to be hard to stick to your diet.
Put yourself in the best position for success. Only keep good food in the house and don’t put yourself in situations where you might break your diet.
7) Snack
Snacking isn’t always a bad thing. It can be a useful tool to avoid breaking your diet. Many people will want a mid-morning, afternoon, or evening snack. Is that bad? No. What is bad is reaching for that big bag of chocolate when you're hungry during your diet.
Snacks can keep your cravings at bay without totally blowing your diet. Keep healthy snacks at work, in the car, and at home for easy access if you’re ever struggling.
8) Monitor Progress
Monitoring our progress aids motivation and adherence. Day-to-day progress is difficult to see, but over time measurements put our progress into perspective.
I’m sure you’ve had days when you feel like you’ve made no progress, and that makes you question what the point of dieting is. Tracking measurements over time reassures you that the diet is working and it’s worth sticking to.
Your measurements will depend on your goal. If your goal is related to body composition, try tracking weight and body fat. If you’re more interested in performance, record your workout times and weights.
9) Create Incentives
We all love a reward for good behavior. Incentives can also help us when we feel like giving up. If possible, create an incentive that ties into your dieting goal.
For example, if your goal is to lose weight, tell yourself you're going to buy yourself a new pair of jeans when you reach your goal weight. Or it might be a new pair of trainers if you’re dieting to improve your 10k time.
10) Find Your "Why"
Why are you dieting? Is it to fit into that dress? Improve your fitness? We all have our reasons for wanting to go on a diet. Identifying your "why" can be a massive motivator, especially when we feel like caving in and giving up.
If you're feeling like you're going off-plan, remind yourself why you're dieting. Chances are you'll stick to your diet if you familiarize yourself with your core motivation.
Summary
Dieting isn’t easy, I’m not going to sugarcoat that (no pun intended). Dieting is hard but highly rewarding. If I can offer you one piece of advice for sticking to a diet, it’s planning.
Plan your meals, plan your lifestyle, plan your goals. Set yourself up for success and you’ll be able to achieve your dieting goals!
