Starting a diet is as easy as giving up smoking. You can do it every day. Sticking to it is much harder as most dieters are well aware. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.
So how can you keep it going when you’re losing heart instead of weight? You’re following the diet but it’s not working anymore. Why? It’s impossible to say for sure. But you hit a plateau or - worse - your weight starts to creep back up again despite all your best efforts.
How’d you keep it going? I’ve been at it now for nearly 18 months. I started at just under 16 stone (224 pounds/100 kilos) and I’m now 11.11 (165 pounds/75 kilos). I want to lose a bit more and get down to 11.2 (156 pounds/70 kilos) which is the right BMI for my age, height and sex. But it’s not shifting despite all my best efforts. Despite the 10,000 steps a day from brisk walking and vigorous dancing. Despite cutting calories to as little as 1,000 a day. My greatest fear now is that I’ll just give up and start piling on the pounds again. Which is what’s always happened in the past.
I’m fed up of not eating as much as I want to. Fed up of forever watching calories and trying to ensure I get my 10,000 steps in a day. Fed up of not being fed up!
So I’ve devised a plan to help me stick to it and it may work for you too.
* Set a target but make it realistic. I think 11.2 for me (156 pounds/70 kilos) is realistic. Nine pounds. I’m giving myself the rest of this year to shift it. The last few pounds are always the toughest.
* Weigh yourself daily and write it down. This can be the motivation to help you stick to your plan.
* Diet with a friend or a group. If you can find someone to diet with or join a slimming group that can be very helpful. But get support of some kind from somewhere. Don’t diet alone.
* Vary your diet. Try the 5:2 or go high protein for a few days. Lack of variety is often why we end up breaking a diet.
* Move more - if you don’t like exercise try to add more movement into daily activities instead. Jiggle about as the kettle boils, make extra journeys to the shop, if you have stairs take things upstairs in ones rather than saving up for one journey!
* Use before pictures, if you have them, to spur you on. Visualise yourself at the weight you want to be.
* Go shopping for clothes - it can be tricky to buy a size smaller than you are in the hope of dieting into it but this does work for some people.
* Emphasise your success so far. Don’t think of the pounds or kilos you’ve lost this week - think of all the pounds/kilos you’ve lost up to this week.
* Put your “fat” clothes on. If you have clothes that no longer fit because you’ve lost weight put them on and celebrate the difference. It’s tempting to throw our “fat” clothes away or give them to a charity shop. Keep at least one garment that was once snug and which now swims on you.
* Try to stay positive about other aspects of your life. Find something besides dieting that gives you pleasure and motivation. Learn a new language, take up a new hobby, tackle your to-be-read list if you have one. Spring clean your home. Take up something you’ve always promised yourself you will. Or just clear out a few messy drawers. Positive feelings from one activity often spill into another. Create an upward loop rather than a downward spiral which can happen when diets don’t work. Good luck.
More next week.
I needed to read this today. I started the keto fast 800 two weeks ago (trying to shift 5-6kgs put on in lockdown last year), basically a very high protein, low carbs, small portions 3 times a day approach. I lost 2.5kg the first week and immediately noticed a positive difference within myself and in my appearance. I even used the keto sticks - but here's where I began to come unstuck, as they never went beyond 'trace keto'. I felt great for the first 10 days but then began to feel a bit bored with my food options and a bit miffed that I put on a tiny amount of weight in the second week. Now I can feel myself slipping into 'what the heck, may as well eat lots of toast' mode. I'm going to adopt some of your tips and carry on.