I'm starting a diet...anyone have any suggestions to help keep me from cheating??

Question

I'm super motivated for like 3 days and then it falls apart. Any suggestions on what I can do, tell myself? I really want to stay motivated.

Answer 1

with success reward yourself with something other than food, like a movie , get a massage. get all the junk and high fat foods out of the house and have fresh fruits and veggies and low fat foods for snack. if your feel the urge to eat drink a glass of water wait 20 minutes and if still hungry eat, the body gives off the same signal when it is thirsty as when its hungry,plus you will feel fuller and not eat as much. set realistic goals for weight loss like this week I want to lose 1- 1.5 pounds and if your make your goal then reward yourself. or when I lose 10 pounds I get to have____ fill in the blank with new clothing or anything that is not food.

Answer 2

Make sure you're getting balanced nutrition and eating enough calories. If you're constantly hungry, you're not eating enough. Eating a lot of high-fiber foods like oatmeal, Kashi products, and oatmeal kick cravings because these foods keep you full for a long time. I also swap out processed meats for vegetarian substitutes like veggie dogs and veggie burgers or veggie crumble tacos. If you cook these things properly, you really can't taste much difference and then you don't crave their high-fat real meat counterparts. A great resource is http://hungrygirl.com/ because the site has tons of recipes, product information, and food advice. You can sign up for their daily emails (I did this over a year ago) and have all their great information sent right to you, but make sure to cruise the site for past recipes and tips, too! You might also find success if you find a support community. Weight Watchers members lose 3 times as much weight as people who diet alone for a reason; they have a group of people sharing their goals and struggles to help them! Try to convince a few of your friends to jump on board the health wagon with you or join an online community. There is a great one at ivillage.com. The most important thing you can do is talk to your doctor and a nutritionist or dietitian and work out a healthy eating and exercise plan that fits your life and your tastes.

Answer 3

throw away all of your bad snacks: cookies, ice cream, chips.

If you need to cheat and reward yourself with food, try something like a low calorie granola bar. Quaker has delicious chocolate peanut butter bars at only 100 calories a pop!

The biggest thing is to not deprive yourself too much of things you really want, otherwise when you get fed up you will binge! Plan out once a day a tiny little treat, and that will help you keep going.

Also, I know people say this all of the time, but water is essential for weight loss. It helps you stay hydrated and full, and speeds up your metabolism. Lots of times people misinterpret dehydration for hunger pangs: really your body is craving water, not food.

Additionally, keep a journal of everything you eat - good or bad. Sometimes awareness and tracking is all it takes.

Once you start to lose weight, the real benefit is how your body feels. When you get a taste of that, you will yearn to continue!

Good luck!

Answer 4

Support, support, support!!!! :) Chech out www.weightlossbuddy.com - Although it is best to have a "real-life" friend to keep you motivated, joining weight loss support forums is the next best thing. I am on the nutrisystem diet and their forums (they are free, you don't have to be on the program) are really helping me. Perhaps do a google search trying to find good weight loss forums.. check out ivillage, yahoo groups, msn groups etc. Babycenter.com has good boards to. Weight watchers has good boards too that are free.

It would be great if you can find a real-life support group. I know weight watchers is kind of pricey, but I think TOPS "Take Off Pounds Sensibly" is very affordable? Too find a group near you try www.tops.org - I just looked and its $24 to join for the whole year. I think the first meeting is free.

Other ideas: post a picture of you at your heaviest that you don't like and post it on the fridge. Join a gym and get a personal trainer if you can afford it. If you are single and don't have to cook for anyone else, don't have tempting foods around. Try to plan out your meals. Allow yourself a small treat every so often but plan for it in advance.

Another idea: if you have a video camera, create an online video diary. Check out this girls that just started:

http://365girl.blogspot.com/

Although I don't think she is choosing proper food choices but that may just be me? Search youtube for other weight loss diary videos.

Have a plan for what to do if you are tempting or have a craving. Perhaps allow yourself to eat something healthy instead such as fat-free yogurt, carrot sticks, etc.

DON'T GIVE UP!!!!!!!!!! :D :D :D You can do it!!!!!!!!! :)

Answer 5

Hi, i have started my new year diet and its going good, i am getting married in a years time so i have motivation, dont wanna be upstaged by my size 8 bridesmaid lol. But the thing i am finding great is i cut my head out and put it on a slim body from a amagazine or something and also i love clothes, so i am setting myself targets, everytime i loose a stone or so many pounds i buy myself soemthing nice! GL im sure you will do just fine

Answer 6

First, enlist a buddy if you have someone willing to do it with you. It's harder to give up when someone else is telling you not to quit. My boyfriend and I have just started our own healthy eating plan. At the beginning of the week, we grill a few lean chicken breasts in olive oil, pepper, garlic, red pepper, onion, and lemon juice. Then we refrigerate it and use it throughout the week for salads made with baby spinach and lots of veggies, sandwiches on whole grain bread, etc... Also, we cut up celery and carrots and put them into sandwich bags for an on-the-go snack. Same with grapefruit. We brew a huge pitcher of iced tea with lemon and no sugar instead of having soda in the fridge. Tea has alot of health benefits, including antioxidants. And yogurt for breakfast. It is so good for you, and not very heavy if you're not normally a breakfast eater. Plus we won't let each other quit. Hope this helps a little.

Answer 7

I totally understand. But, why not let yourself "cheat" once a week. If you have a goal each week (i.e. exercise 5 times that week, keep eating healthy etc.) why not splurge once at the end of the week to reward yourself? There's nothing wrong with a little fat and chocolate now and then (it's even in the food pyramid!) and then you don't have such a long unreasonable and unrealistic goal. Aim for a new goal each week.

Answer 8

Find a picture of who you want to look like a keep it with you at all times, so when you feel like you want to cheat look at that picture. Also, throw away all the junk food in your house and avoid eating out. Fill out refridgerator with nothing, but healthy snacks and meals so you have no choice but to eat healthy. Good luck! ♥

Answer 9

Purge your house of all junk and sweets that you usually snack on. And then fill your home with healthy alternatives such as yogurt instead of ice cream
fat free pudding instead of chocolate bars and cookies
rice cakes instead of potato chips
and finally lots and lots of fruits and vegetables.

Answer 10

take your picture in a bathing suit and post a copy in the fridge, pantry, and cookie jar, lol. everytime you see that youll realize what youre looking for, and wont want to give into temptation. ive even heard if you snack infront of the mirror, you see your self and obviesly wont like what you see.