No one starts out on a diet with the intent to fail. Just like with New Year’s resolutions, the bar is often set too high and the motivation required wanes over time. The good news is that studies show that the average diet lasts about six months; a pretty impressive accomplishment all things considered. If there is one culprit that has vanquished more diets than any one factor, it is the level of difficulty. The stricter the diet, the better chance it has to fail. Let’s take a look at a few other reasons why so many dieters fail.
Diet Success - Picking the Wrong Diet Method
We all want the path of least resistance when want diet success, so it makes sense that we would run out and choose the one that is going to give us the best results in the least amount of time, but what if that diet isn’t the right diet for you and your personal eating habits? You need to choose a diet that is not only right for your tastes but right for your lifestyle. If you live a hectic life, you can’t except to follow through with a strictly regimented diet. Try and find a diet that fits not only your taste buds, but your schedule, too.
The best way to approach a diet is to look at it like it isn’t a diet at all. When most of us think of a diet, we think of a temporary correction in the way that we are eating that, once we get to where we want to be, will be rescinded and our old eating habits will return. A truly successful diet is one you love doing do much that it becomes the permanent way of consuming from that point on. Find a diet like that and you won’t want to stop.
Diet Success - Expecting Miracles
Even the most amazing diet can only provide results at a fairly slow pace. Ideally, you shouldn’t lose more than 2 to 3 pounds a week on ANY diet, although some can start much faster and still be healthy. If you start out expecting to lose forty percent of your total body weight in two months, you are going to fail and you are going to beat yourself up about it. Research your diet properly and set realistic short term and long term goals and you will be in much better shape, figuratively and literally.
You can also draw strength from the fact that studies have shown that even a small amount of weight loss can significantly increase your health. In a perfect world, you should only aim for about ten percent of your total body weight at a time. Anything more is unrealistic, even for the most dedicated dieters.
Diet Success - Throwing In the Exercise Towel
If you are serious about dieting, you have to exercise. This doesn’t mean you have to begin training for a local marathon, often times simply walking for 30 to 60 minutes a day is more then enough physical activity, but expecting to lose copious amounts of weight without exercise is just plain silly. Even if you have physical limitations that hold you back from being as active as you want to be, you can use weights or perform some other kind of exercise that can help you burn calories.
A great tip for people looking for less stressful ways to exercise is to be creative. Even activities like gardening or dancing are fantastic ways to burn calories, stay active and assist your diet along its way. There is so much more out there than just jogging, biking and aerobics.
Diet Success - Going at It Half Hearted
If you are really ready to change who you are and what you look like, be ready to change your entire atmosphere at home and at work. Go through your fridge and your cabinets and get rid of fatty temptations and replace those snacks with healthy alternatives.
Change around your living room so you aren’t as tempted to sit for hours in front of the television
