Five things you MUST believe for healthy weight loss
With summer now upon us – although you could be forgiven for not knowing that thanks to the weather we’re having! – many of us will be thinking about trips to the beach and days spent lazing around a swimming pool…and dreading it! Yes, when you’re feeling a little insecure about your body there’s nothing more daunting than the prospect of getting it all out on display in a bikini or swimming costume.
It is because of this that many of us think about going on a diet and losing weight as the summer approaches. But did you know one of the main reasons for failing a diet is negative thoughts or taking it with the wrong approach?
If you want to make sure your diet is successful then you MUST tell yourself, and believe, these things.
1. Reality rules
You can try and force yourself to believe weight loss is down to a careful worked out scientific equation and by eating a specific selection of foods you’re going to lose weight but the fact is reality rules here. Only eating less and exercising more will result in proper weight loss.
2. Mistakes happen
Ok so you slipped up. You couldn’t resist any longer, so you gave in and had a bar of chocolate. It was delicious but within ten minutes of eating it you’re filled with self-hatred and cursing yourself for ruining all your hard work. Well, STOP. Mistakes happen, nobody is perfect and everyone slips up. Just tell yourself you’ll try not to do it again and get back to being good.
3. Patience is a virtue
If you have been dieting for a week and you’ve not lost any weight – don’t lose heart! It’s important to be patient when dieting. You can’t expect to lose a stone in a fortnight and then feel hard done by if you don’t. Pace yourself and take it slow.
4. Life goes on
One of the main reasons people fail diets is because life gets in the way. You’ve been dieting for three days and everything is going well then you realise it’s your best friends birthday meal on Saturday night so you’re going to have to drink and eat calorific foods so there’s no point in dieting whatsoever! You must accept that life goes on; things don’t stop just because you’re on a diet, and so your diet must be flexible enough to deal with these things.
5. Weight isn't everything
If you are telling yourself that by losing a few pounds you’ll be able to fit into your favourite old jeans you’re on the right track. However, if you are telling yourself that by losing a few pounds you’ll be able to fit into your old jeans and as a result your ex will realise what he’s missing and move back in and you’ll feel happy and in love again and everything will be ok, you’re not. Weight is just that, weight. It will not cause or solve all of your problems and dieting and expecting weight loss to fix all of your problems is not a healthy way of thinking.
