Did Your Best Intentions Slip? Don’t Worry, It’s Time For A Diet Reset!
We all have our moments of weakness: The 3 p.m. sugar crash that leads you to raid your co-workers candy jar, acting on an inexplicable corn dog craving, a late night cake binge. Whatever’s got the best of you and caused that diet slip, trust us, we’ve been there. If you’ve been challenged to stick to your plan to eat healthier this year, it may be time for a diet reset and refocus. Here are three tips to get you back on track and feeling better than ever that don’t require cleansing, starving or feeling bad – because, really, who needs that? Wondering how to get back on track with your diet? We’ve got you covered with these tips to restart your diet!
3 Tips For A Diet Reset To Get Back On Track
Diet Slip? You Should Still Love Yourself.
You’re not a bad person because “just one” potato chip became the whole bag. You need not wallow in self-loathing when you can’t pass up one, two, ok three office donuts. You’re human. Rather than berating yourself, dust yourself off and give yourself some love.
“Research indicates that when we feel shame, we globally de-value our entire sense of self,” reports Psychology Today. “It is basically as if our physiology is telling us that (in our heads and hearts) we are a rather worthless person.” If you’re feeling worthless, it’s a lot harder to make yourself a priority – including eating the way you know is best for your body. Instead, give yourself an extra dose of self-care. Be kind, gentle and remember even superheroes have bad days.
Lost Your Diet Motivation? Stop Trying So Hard.
What inspired you to make healthy eating a priority? To feel better in your body? Help maintain sustained energy levels? To get better sleep? Whatever the case, the key to sticking with it may be to quit trying so hard. “The key to staying motivated is similar to the [amount of] fuel in a car—you don’t need the motivation tank to be full to drive, you just need to prevent it from running empty,” says Joshua C. Klapow, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist at the University of Alabama at Birmingham to Shape magazine. “I tell people not to waste precious time and energy on staying highly motivated because motivation has a natural rhythm. Most people see a drop in motivation as a signal of failure, but it’s not,” he says.
When your motivation for your diet wanes, give yourself a break for a few days. Stick to the basics of your eating plan until your motivation re-ignites on its own. “The problem with motivation is that the more people try to ‘catch’ it, the more elusive it becomes; by allowing it to run its natural course and at the same time having a set of habit-changing skills (such as a meal plan for the week), you’ll stay on track and your motivation levels will run their natural course.”
Did You Diet Too Hard? Go Easy.
We can punish ourselves when we feel like we’ve “been bad.” But forcing yourself into a militant eating regimen is no way to achieve long-term success with a diet or healthy eating habits. You may end up sticking with your plan for a while, but unless you really are a superhero, these perfectly structured diets are nearly impossible to keep up long term.
Punishing yourself with food restriction can also create anxiety and develop an unhealthy relationship with food. Instead, start your diet reset by recommiting to your original plan and build in healthy indulgences. You’re more likely to stick to it, and you’ll be taking care of your mind as well as your body.
