Dieting has to be one of the most boring parts of staying healthy, and certainly the part that my clients struggle with the most. It's seen as bland and most diets don't last as long as they need to. The reason for this, I believe, is that there are way too many companies and individuals out there trying to sell quick fixes and new, fad diets, all of which are no better than each other. Studies have proved that it doesn't matter how you diet (low carb, high fat or low fat, high carb), the only way to lose fat is to be in a caloric deficit. Also, when it comes to losing fat and feeling good, we all want quick fixes and the results to come straight to us. This is never the case, and this is another reason why I think that diets don't work because people don't see the results straight away and therefore give up. Below I will list three different ways that you can get yourself into that caloric deficit, without wanting to give up straight away.
My first tip is to change how you track your calories. If you are a big fan of tracking your calories and feel like this works for you, then fantastic. Tracking calories is really beneficial to keep you strict and always working towards your target. However, sometimes it can be stressful being so strict, and people feel like they can't socialise as well because they will have to miss out on a meal out or a drink. This is where tracking your calories weekly instead of daily can work. For example, if your target is to eat 1500 calories a day, then weekly tracking means you have to eat 10,500 calories a week. This can work because it means that some days (like the weekend) you can eat a little more and enjoy yourself, and then on the other days you can be stricter and more accountable to yourself to hit your weekly target. I find that this is the best, and most sociable way to track calories.
My second tip is to change when you look at the scales. If looking at the number on the scales works for you, you need to make sure that you aren't overthinking the number as your weight will fluctuate day to day. Reasons for this include your body retaining more water, bloating due to overeating and also time of the day that you jump on the scales. The recommendation I would give when it comes to checking your weight is to do it no more than once a month. This is because a longer timeframe will give you a better idea of whether your diet is actually making a difference to your weight, and it not going up just because you had an extra slice of pizza. If your mood and energy is being affected by what you eat then you may want to change your diet before you even step on the scales, but don't let your scales define how and what you eat. Try something out, give it time to see if it works, and then re-evaluate and adapt the diet to keep yourself working towards your goals!
My third and final tip is to take your time, work on changing habits long term, not looking for short term results. This can relate well to the scales as well, but the biggest problem I see with people and my clients is that they don't make a healthy lifestyle a habit. This does mean you can still have that glass of wine and that extra slice of pizza every now and again, but that consistent health eating should be something that is second nature throughout the weeks and months. The best way that I find to do this is to aim to change one thing at a time either every week, fortnight or month. This could be something simple like making sure that you eat breakfast, or have one less snack a day. It could also be something big like dropping your calories to hit your target, changing the times in the day that you eat or changing how you shop for food (changing from shopping day by day to shopping for the whole week).
So there's three different ways you can make changes to help your diet. Get in touch with me if you want to know anymore or have any questions!