Subscribe4 Useful Solutions For a Failing Diet
Some lucky people seem blessed with an iron will; they decide to go on a diet, swear off chocolate, and not a morsel of it passes their lips until they've reached their goal weight.
The rest of us occasionally need a little help. What can you do when motivation vanished weeks ago, when you find yourself slipping back into bad habits - like buying snacks at school or work, having second helpings, drinking too much alcohol, and "forgetting" to eat fruit and veg"?
It's time for some drastic measures.
1. Buying snacks at school or work
The problem:
You start the day with good intentions, but by mid-morning, you find yourself at the vending machine. A couple of minutes later, you've wolfed down a king-sized candy bar.
The solution:
I wrote about this easy fix a couple of weeks ago: Leave all your money at home. (Take a packed lunch rather than buying from the canteen or sandwich shop.) You won't be so desperate for a snack that you'll scrounge cash from a friend or workmate.
2. Having second helpings
The problem:
You cook up big batches of food when you prepare a meal, so that there are plenty of leftovers to keep for later in the week. But when a giant pan of bolognaise sauce is just sitting there in the kitchen, you end up helping yourself to seconds - along with a chunk of bread.
The solution:
Once you've dished up, put all the leftovers into a Tupperware box and shut the lid tight - before you sit down to eat your meal. (Let it cool down before popping it in the fridge or freezer, though.)
3. Drinking too much alcohol
The problem:
You go out with friends every Friday, and each time you promise yourself you'll just have a couple of drinks then stick to water. Late-night kebabs and chips are not helping your diet, and being hungover all Saturday means you skip that planned jog. But however many times you resolve to just have two beers, you end up getting horribly drunk.
The solution:
A bit harsh, this one, but it works: Don't drink at all. You could offer to be the designated driver, but don't feel you have to give an excuse. Just stick to soft drinks all night - it's far easier to say "no" to alcohol completely than to stop after you've started drinking.
4. "Forgetting" to eat fruit and veg
The problem:
It's not that you dislike fruit and vegetables - you just never quite get round to eating them. Perhaps you add plenty to your basket when shopping, only to find that they've turned to mush in the salad drawer and fruit bowl a couple of weeks later.
The solution:
Make it a rule that you have to have a piece of fruit before lunch and before dinner every day - never eat your meal until you've had that bit of fruit. Chop some vegetables into sticks, and store them in a box of cold water in the fridge (to keep them crisp). Whenever you want a snack, you have to have a handful of veg first.
Have you managed to overcome a dieting problem by taking drastic measures? Or is there a tricky situation you're still struggling with? Share your experiences in the comments section...
Very concise tips but most people don't utilise habits often enough this is the main reason people fail I believe.
It takes about 30 days or more before new habits are ingrained.
Replyme? the key to success (in all realms) is VISUALIZING my succeeding, not giving up in the face of my first 'failure' or road bump, and BELIEVING I CAN DO IT!
M.
ReplyMost of these tips seem to have something in common: preparation. Prepare your lunch & bring it with you, prepare by putting the leftovers away, prepare healthy snacks & keep them in the fridge... it really is so much easier to establish good habits when you're prepared. Otherwise, you (I) end up running to fast food when the kids are hungry at 6pm. Thanks for the reminder to prepare, no matter what my crutch might be.
ReplyI think that unhealthy snacks cause a lot of problems for people dieting. It's easy to eat them, and because they are small it's easy to dismiss them as insignificant. Not bringing money can be a good solution, as long as you pack some type of healthy snack for yourself.
ReplyI heard this guy on Irish radio (I think he was also on Oprah) who was trying to stop complaining. He had these bracelets that you're supposed to wear, and every time you complain about something you swap it to the opposite wrist. Apparently it takes 21 days to break a habit. The idea is to keep the bracelet on the same wrist for 21 days; then you're cured of negativity!
I'm applying this to my snacking. If I have an unplanned unhealthy snack I move my ring which is always on my middle finger to a different finger. It feels uncomfortable if its not where it belongs, and reminds me that I have had an unhealthy snack today if I go to have another one. Hopefully after 21 days I can stop moving the thing around!
ReplyWhat about an appetite suppressant? I don't mean diet pills with caffeine and stimulants in them. I mean adding a supplement to diet and exercise (http://www.pastoreformulations.com/product_p/005.htm).
It's an all natural thing, and it's supposed to help with heavy snacking and stuff? What do you think?
ReplyIf your friends always go out drinking every weekend, and you'v decided to cut out alcohol, it's probably time to start looking for some different friends. Seriously.
ReplyTo break any habit it just takes time and commitment. It also takes not giving up once you fail once. Just get back on that horse again. Nobody's perfect.
ReplyAnother problem is not moving enough. One solution is to increase the amount of "spontaneous exercise" in your life, and also the amount of "non-exercise activity," and a really good way to do this is to substitute moving for snacking. If you feel restless at work, for example, go for a walk or find some stairs and climb a few flights. The craving may subside enough so you are able to go back to work (or whatever) without snacking.
ReplyGreat tips! I like the first one...I did that when I started losing weight because I am very cheap and I felt like vending machine snacks were not only a rip-off money-wise, but also a nutritional black hole. I made it a rule to never carry cash to work and all my food was packed in my lunch bag. I think being prepared is a big part of it...it's like anything else; if it's important to you, you'll take the time to make it work. If you expect things to just kind of happen, chances are you'll find a million excuses for why you "can't" do something.
The fruit and veggie thing is so important too. I know so many people who'll buy a bag of apples at the store and kind of leave them out and figure they'll eat them as a snack but then decide that Cheetos are tastier. So then the apples rot and you throw them out and waste all that money. If keep your produce properly and clean it and take the time to pick out really decent fruit and vegetables, it'll be a lot more appetizing. I know for me, I HAVE to have cold apples because I don't care for them if they are warm/room temp...so I keep them in the fridge and they really appeal to me as a snack that way.
Reply1. Bring your own snacks. Healthy things you like. For me, it's nuts, apples, string cheese, yogurt, V8 and popcorn. It's so much easier to resist things if you're hungry, and you have healthier options.
2. Don't make a lot of anything that you know will tempt you. No temptation around makes it easier to resist.
3. I totally agree. Alcohol lowers my inhibitions and makes it way to easy to eat things I normally wouldn't, or too much of something. Plus, alcohol seems to make me retain. I also agree with the poster who said if this is what your friends do, you need to make new (healthier minded) friends.
4. I agree that a piece of fruit before a meal is a great way to get in your fruit. For me, it's a sliced apple. It's a great way to get in my fruit and curb my appetite. I also like sliced strawberries or other berries after a meal as a dessert.
For vegetables, I buy frozen bagged stir-fry veggies that have nothing added, as in no salt, no sauce, nothing. They are easy to pop in the microwave and cook in 5-10 minutes. I keep a variety of condiments around in case I want added flavor.
Also, fresh bagged veggies are great for when you don't want to wash and cut.
I like to roast veggies when I have time. Yum.
*These have becomed learned habits for me in the past few years. I was not raised to eat this way, so it can be done. I work full time and have a lot going on, and I used to think it took too much time to eat healthfully. I was wrong.
ReplyI take serving size frozen veggie packets into work and have these before lunch. They fill you up a bit before lunch and help to get the veggie servings in.
ReplyFor snacking at work, the key is eating enough at breakfast and lunch so you don't need as much in between. Eating a lot of sugar or a low amount of calories can lead to cravings and a energy crash later. Plan to eat three meals (at least before dinner), not two meals and and two snacks.
ReplyFor alcohol-give it up. It is not worth it.
For eating second helpings-only cook enough for the people eating dinner that night(unless you plan to take leftovers to work the next day). Also, make sure to eat plenty of lean protein with your meal because it fills you up. Drink two cups of water with the meal because drinks can add a lot of calories.
For forgetting to eat fruits and veggies, this is a tough one. I think if a person is really serious, they will sit down and plan how to do it. I think starting slow is the key. One fruit and veggie a day, first. Maybe, a fruit first thing in the morning and veggie at dinner time. I buy those veggies that all you have to do is pop them on the stove or in the microwave and they are cooked immediately. Also, I chop up broccoli and mix it with equal parts lean beef for a tasty broccoli burger. That way I trick myself! As long as a person remembers to work with their body and compromise, they will be okay.
Whenever I buy snacks -- whether it's healthy pretzels or fruit or veggies or whatever --- as soon as I get home from the store the snacks get packaged up into snack-sized ziploc baggies. By portioning out single servings ahead of time, I'm less tempted to overeat. Plus, single serving baggies are easy to grab on the way out the door for a snack on the go.
Replyvery simple, yet sensible and effective advice.
personally, i dont really bother pre-chopping fresh veg, i just make sure4 there's plenty of carrots and celery in the fridge.
often i'll sit down to my meal, look at it and think hmm i dont really need that much, then get up and put some in a tupperware container for later. maybe that requires more will power, idk, but it really raises ur self esteem to know that u can be that portion aware even wen ur sitting right in front of the food.
if i go out drinking i will often then eat that saved portion wen i get in, so basically im eating no more than i would have had i finished a reasonably sized healthy meal in one sitting.
also, i find it really helpful to have a couple of low cal low salt (usually vegetarian)ready meals on hand in the freezer for wen i cant be bothered to cook/have nothing else in. i'll add some frozen veg and thats a pretty decent meal that takes about 6mins to make.
and also, just having a large bottle of water with u while ur working can resolve the whole pre-lunch hunger pang issue. i actually believe a lot of the time those pangs are just the feeling of ur stomach becoming empty again, and personally i think thats important. ur not supposed to be digesting food ALL the time.
ReplyMy only tricky situation is hunger.
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