The holiday season is approaching. As you’ve begun to make holiday preparations you may have thought about starting a diet.
It can be so exhilarating to imagine ourselves strutting on the beach with a slimmer, toned body. The thought of not having to envy peers who look healthy and gorgeous while rocking mini bikinis is enough incentive to diet. However, negative motivation will only lead to failure. Dieting obsessively can be miserable and have a horrible impact on our self-esteem. In the end, such calorie counting proves unsustainable.
Here are several tips for slimming down without feeling down.
Don’t eat when you are not hungry. Many of us treat food as a way to escape from reality. We’ll eat when we’re upset, bored, or stressed. If you can stop this habit of emotional eating, you’re going to naturally cut down your food intake.
Have a balanced intake. When we restrict ourselves from eating certain foods, having to resist cravings – which only grow stronger for forbidden fruit – makes us miserable. It’s human nature: we want to be free. So here’s the trick: If you want to eat a cheesy pepperoni pizza, go ahead, but add a rocket salad too, for instance. Keep your nutrition balanced by adding more fruits, veggies and whole grains. This will fill you up so you naturally refrain from eating less nutritious foods.
Have healthier goals. When done with weak purposes – such as to look good in a bikini – healthy habits such as dieting and exercising won’t last long, because it sends the unconscious message that you are not good enough as you are. If you diet for a health-oriented, empowering reason that doesn’t insult your ego and self-confidence, such as: I want to to do this so I can beat my boyfriend when we run a 10K, you are more likely to stick with your habit.
Have fun – in large doses. Knowing that we tend to eat more when we are unhappy, the solution is to make ourselves happy. Immerse in activities that uplift your spirit so that you aren’t constantly thinking about food. You will naturally eat less without realizing it as you will be too busy.
Do it with your friends. One doesn’t need to sacrifice his/her social life to spend more time at the gym.
Instead, create a community around your goals. Go with your spouse for a morning or an afternoon jog or ask your best pal to accompany you swimming or taking a zumba class; play squash with a co-worker after work or get your friends together for a healthy dinner party.
