Committing to Dieting Like You Commit to the Gym
Hey Angels and Alphas,
Whether they’re trying to achieve weight loss or muscle gain, it seems like most people who train consistently have no problem getting to the gym. They show up like clockwork three to five times out the week, they’re getting stronger, they’re making progress, and this kind of commitment definitely pays off.
But the same can’t be said for the majority of people trying to diet.
For many people, committing to a more sustainable yet healthy nutritious plan is really the hardest part of fitness as a whole. But making these long-term changes to your diet is one of the best things you can do for yourself.
So right now, let’s take a look at the psychology behind committing to the gym and see how we can apply these same principles to our diet so we can maximize our results:
#1 STAYING MINDFUL
Eating and hunger are two things you’re going to have to deal with for the rest of your life. We often don’t realize that we’re eating to comfort ourselves, to lower our stress levels, or to stuff down some other emotion we don’t want to feel.
That’s why if you suspect that if you’re using food to emotionally unpack, this can make it difficult for you to turn eating into a more measured, managed type of task.
Try this one tip: every time before you sit down to eat a meal, take note of how you’re feeling. Focus on everything you see, think, feel, and smell before and after you’re done with your meal. This will help you spot a lot of patterns you weren’t aware of.
#2 THINK LONG-TERM SUSTAINABILITY
Short-term doesn’t work. Well, it does, but it works in the short-term… and that’s not what we’re going for here, is it? As soon as the “short-term” diet is over, you’re back to your old ways.
When it comes to dieting and living a healthy lifestyle, you have to consider your goals and expectations and do your best to make your new plan as sustainable as possible.
You can still embark on a new and exciting diet challenge and use it as a stepping stone for creating longer-lasting habits. But as the challenge ends, you need to find a way to transform what you’ve learned into long-term changes.
At the end of the day, sustainability and consistency are the two elements that will decide whether your diet makes sense for you or not. Those are the things that you should be putting the most focus on.
#3 BUILDING AND STACKING HABITS
“Having a healthy diet” is actually a combination of countless smaller things. Meal prepping, counting calories, tracking macros, including variety in your diet, making sure you’re getting the right macro amounts for your specific goal, and so much more.
When all of these little tasks become habits of yours, they’re not going to require any willpower or motivation to do. They become just like your gym routine or the shower you take every morning.
You’ll be naturally drawn to them as you get used to them. Once eating a vegetable with every meal becomes a habit for you, and once you start getting into a rhythm where you’re prepping healthy meals and consuming them at the appropriate times, you’ll see how the need for “motivation” will instantly disappear.
Pro tip: take these habits one at a time and build each of them over the course of 21 days. This could be as simple as committing to drinking a glass of water when you wake up, taking 2 hours of your day on Sunday to prepare meals and snacks for the week, or just eating a veggie with every dinner. Once the first action becomes a habit, add another habit, and see how you’re going to feel 12 months from now.
#4 USE YOUR FAILURES TO GROW AND MOVE FORWARD
How many times have you tried a diet only to either cut it prematurely or regain the weight back once you were finished?
Well, what did you learn from that? Your failures should serve as little data points that allow you to figure out what works and what doesn’t, and they teach you in what areas you might need to work on.
Instead of getting discouraged when you regain weight back after dieting, just use that as a lesson to move toward more sustainable, effective modes of eating that will actually help you achieve your long-term fitness and health goals.
Leave a Comment