You have been perfect with your ‘diet’ for weeks now and you have been exercising consistently as well going to the gym most days of the week when suddenly you get that feeling, like you just need to have a piece of chocolate or a cookie. One won’t hurt right? Now you find yourself feeling guilty because you have completely ruined your perfect diet, might as well have another one then, next thing you know the whole packet is gone.
Now you feel even worse, but since you have already messed up might as well go out for pizza tonight and a few drinks and dessert. Because after all if you can’t do it perfectly then what’s the point. You’ll start again fresh tomorrow… or Monday.
Do you ever find yourself getting stuck in this cycle - restricting your diet for a few weeks and then just crashing into a whole tub of ice cream or eating a whole block of chocolate in one go because you have been feeling so deprived on your restrictive diet?
I know that I have found myself in this situation many times. Often wondering if there was something wrong with me, why couldn’t I just eat one chocolate biscuit without feeling the need to eat the entire packet?
This is called an all or nothing mindset. You are either all in on your ‘diet’ only eating foods that you think of as ‘clean’ or healthy, then when you do eat that chocolate biscuit you feel like it’s all been ruined and now you might as well eat the whole lot before you start your ‘diet’ again tomorrow because who knows how long it will be before you get to eat these foods again after that.
This way of thinking only leads you further away from your goals because the truth is that having one cookie, or dessert every now and then is not going to destroy your progress.
It can be tough to learn how to stop thinking this way and it can take a lot of work, but it is worth it in the end and it makes reaching your goals a whole lot easier!
The best strategy is to aim for consistency, not perfection. Do the right thing 80-90% of the time, accept the fact that sometimes you will deviate from your plan and that is ok because it is what you do most of the time that will get you the results.
This is important because you're more likely to stick with the plan for the long haul if you focus on consistency instead of perfection. You're much less likely to fall off the wagon.
This all or nothing mindset can also lead to obsessive relationships with food and exercise. In food, this could lead to eating disorders. It's ok to have a cookie, and a cookie isn't "unhealthy," or "bad." It's just a cookie. What makes something unhealthy, food or behaviour is the amount and frequency.
Here are a few of the strategies that I find help me to keep on track and still be able to enjoy all of my favourite foods as well without overeating.
No food is off-limits. I find that if I tell myself that I ‘can’t’ have a particular food, then that food is all I can think about! If I think yeah sure I can eat that when ever I want, it removes the power of that food as well as the scarcity mindset. I can have it whenever I feel like it so I don’t need to eat all of the cookies right now.
Don’t keep trigger foods in the house. The first tip is great, but I also know that there are certain foods that once I start eating I find it very difficult to stop. So I do not keep these foods in the house. I don’t ‘forbid’ myself from eating them, I can if I want, but since they are not in the house I need to make a special trip out to get it. Most of the time I end up deciding that I really don’t want it that badly, but every now and then I do so I will go out and buy a single serve of that food.
Be kind to myself. We are all a work in progress and will make mistakes or fall back into old habits from time to time. When this happens, I try not to beat myself up over it. First I acknowledge that it happened, and how I was feeling at the time, and try to identify what may have triggered it and learn from it. Learning lessons along the way is all part of the journey.
I hope you found this helpful. Leave a comment and let me know!
