Expert tips to help you stay motivated while dieting

Anyone who has ever been on a diet knows that one of the most difficult tasks is maintaining high motivation so as not to give up halfway through. That's why today we want to share with you the best expert tips that will help you achieve your goals in a healthy and hassle-free way.

How to motivate yourself during a diet so as not to break down

Deciding to make such changes in life and even following the planned nutrition protocol for the first days is not a difficult matter, but keeping a diet for the entire period of time is completely different, because eating habits are very strong, notes a certified specialist in weight loss and strategy in the field of youth and longevity, nutritionist at the adult department of VIA Clinic Daria Kiseleva.

So how can you overcome temptations? The expert listed important points that should be taken into account in order for everything to work out.

1. Enter the diet gradually.

The smoother the transition to a new diet and the higher the motivation, the more sustainable the results will be, advises Daria Kiseleva.

“Gradually, gently, without causing sharp resistance in the psyche. It is important not to completely exclude foods, but to try to look for a healthy alternative, offer yourself a replacement, which will allow you to avoid breakdowns. After all, a ban is always a trigger,” she warns.

2. Allow yourself something from the prohibited list once every 10 days.

“No one has canceled cheat meals. This will relieve the severity of the food discomfort of the diet. After all, when you know that the treasured chocolate bar is sometimes allowed, you don’t really want it,” the expert advises.

3. We remove from sight everything that is not allowed.

“Our limbic system is very cunning and it will be extremely difficult to suppress the impulse that has already arisen to eat (conditionally) a donut, and if this succeeds, the next impulse will be twice as strong. This is how the psyche works. In this regard, try to prevent these impulses from arising, remove everything that can cause them is out of sight. After all, when you know that there is no cake in the refrigerator, you won’t want it. And even if such a desire arises, it has a greater chance of remaining unfulfilled,” says Kiseleva.

4. Support of the environment.

The nutritionist believes that this is one of the most important circumstances that can affect the result.

“Let your family know about this sometimes difficult period and help you by trying to stick to your diet or at least not bringing home foods from the stop list. Find a person, a friend or sister, for example, with whom you will lose weight. Share your successes and receiving support from outside is a very important component of this period,” she notes.

5. Don't count the days until the end of the diet.

“Do not keep in mind the end date of the program, because otherwise you are setting a line for yourself, past which, a person, as a rule, relaxes and quickly returns to the starting point,” the expert warns.

Well, in order for the process of losing weight to be easy and effective, you need to treat the diet not as a temporary restriction in food, but as a change in eating habits.

Why is motivation sometimes lacking?

Motivation sometimes disappears due to vague wording, notes Yana Bykova, nutritionist, author of the #Changing_size project. What to do?

1. Formulate your goals for why you want to lose weight.

“Ask yourself questions: Why do you want to become slimmer? What new opportunities will a change in weight or clothing size lead to? Why is this important to you?” advises Yana Bykova.

2. Intrinsic motivation.

"Interestingly, intrinsic motivation is more effective than extrinsic motivation. This means that when a goal is controlled by your own attitudes, rather than the expectations of others, you are more likely to work towards it in the long term," she says.

3. Remove stereotypes.

“There is a stereotype that losing weight means suffering. It implies strict restrictions to the point of violence against oneself. Without the will, not everyone can withstand such a process for a long time. But work can be done without violence, giving what the body needs,” the expert notes.

If you lack motivation, Yana Bykova advises looking for additional sources:

• Create a weight loss plan that you can stick to and avoid programs that would be nearly impossible to follow in the long term. Although there are hundreds of different diets, most are based on cutting calories. Reducing your intake will lead to weight loss, but following strict diets that result in frequent crashes (the so-called yo-yo effect) has been found to be a predictor of future weight gain.
• Self-control is critical to motivation and weight loss success. Research has shown that people who watch their food intake are more likely to lose weight and keep it off.
• To properly keep a food diary, you should write down everything you eat during the day. This includes all meals and snacks. You can also write down your emotions in a food journal. This will help you identify your overeating triggers and find healthier ways to cope with them.

Do not torment yourself for failures and do not quit what you started, because a diet is a process, not an obligation that must always be fulfilled 100%. To stay motivated, you can put stickers on prominent places in the kitchen, for example, on the refrigerator, with the number of your desired weight.

“This will be a reminder that will return you to the right path in case of “extreme forgetfulness”, which our brain arranges for us at such moments,” advises Daria Kiseleva, a certified specialist in weight loss and strategy in the field of youth and longevity.

At the same time, adding that the growth of nervous conditions can be provoked by the numbers on the scales, so it is better not to focus on them.

Reward yourself for perseverance on the path to achieving your goal with pleasant little things: a new manicure, massage, SPA procedure, or simply browsing through catalogs of clothes with the desired size. Even if this is just a dream for now, it will definitely become a reality if you give yourself time and be patient.