Why you just can't 'stick' to your diet and the only change you need to finally succeed.

How many diets have you tried for weight loss? How many have worked? And I mean really worked, for a long time after you end the plan? If you're like me, I'm guessing none. I was 100% in the fad diet club. Atkins, South Beach, Cabbage Soup, Dukin, Skinny B*tch, and so many more I can't even remember the names. None of them worked. All of them made me feel like I just couldn't stick to them. That I must be doing it wrong or not hard enough. Why couldn't I just stick to the diet like the books said?!

It's NOT your fault

Little did I know, and maybe you do or don't know this too... It was not my fault and it's not your fault either. No one can 'stick' to these ridgid plans with no flexibility for celebrating a birthday or just a night when you feel like a pizza with family and friends - and life is 100% too short to miss out on nights like that. What the diet books weren't telling you is that when you stop trying to be perfect, you can make amazing, life changing, lasting progress! But only once you let go of perfection.

All or nothing...

Do you say that about yourself? I'm so 'all or nothing' when it comes to losing weight/dieting/going to the gym/making a change - but let's be honest for a moment, how much is 'all'...and how much is 'nothing'. And more importantly, 'all' is no good if it's not sustainable. Consistency is the way forward.

Building motivation

It's that word again, consistency. If you're wondering "How can I be more consistent with my diet?", this is the answer: Let yourself win! Small, sustainable changes over time. It's not fast, it's not 'sexy' or packaged up in fancy marketing terms, but it does really work. I'll show you how.

Letting go of perfection

Here's the thing. You know the all or nothing approach isn't getting you weight loss results, or any results, in fact, it's keeping you stuck firmly in the diet cycle of 'diet starts Monday', self loathing and feeling like a failure. We absolutely do not want that for you. So a little trust is going to be required. To give up on the quick fixes, to accept that the scales won't drop 5lb in a week - and that's a good thing. Because weight is like money, easy come, easy go.

How can you let yourself win?

Start with the goal you want to achieve. Then break it down into at least 6 steps with behaviour change actions. For example:

Lose 30lb becomes:

Goal 1. Become aware of current diet by keeping a food diary for one week. This gives you a baseline from which to work from.

Goal 2: Lose 1st 2lb by choosing 1-2 changes you can make from the baseline food diary. This could be swapping one fun food (a food with low/no nutritional value) for a piece of fruit.

Goal 3: Lose another 5lb by using another swap. Reduce starchy carbs (rice, pasta potatoes) by 1/4 in your evening meals and increase veggies by 1/4. This reduces calories but not food on the plate.

Goal 4: Lose 10lb by adding some regular movement. Try a dance class, Couch25K app, walking or anything you can find some enjoyment in.

Goal 5: Keeping the journey going by re-record another week's food diary. Look for some more swaps to lower calorie intake without restricting food or all of the fun!

Goal 6: Keep working towards your total weight loss goal by refocusing after an 'away' choice. A choice that isn't a vote for you future self. Check out the blog on: One simple trick to treat yourself without runing your diet here for more on this.

Know your why

This is the SECRET SAUCE for making a change. You can read more about your 'why' here in the Huff post article. When you elevate your goals to not only what you want to achieve but why you want to achieve them, you'll never lose a battle with the Devil on your shoulder again. For more on this, be sure to sign up to our mailing list (pop up) to be notified of the next blog post when we'll be talking more about your 'why'.

Are you ready to stop trying to being perfect?

I've seen HUGE breakthroughs with 1:1 coaching clients when they let go of trying to be perfect. I promise you, it's the BEST way to make a lasting change. To say "I'm making the right choice most of the time, and sometimes I just eat a little of what I fancy but I refocus afterwards." Is truly GAME CHANGING. It will free you from the diet cycle and allow you to actually lose weight, change your diet, eat healthy or achieve any goal you desire! Doesn't that sound good?

Of course, this is our speciality! So if you need some help in breaking free from dieting, ending binge and comfort eating and making a lasting change to feel good, energised and lose weight for life, give us a call!