Stop Lying to Yourself

“Me? Lie?” Yes. 

It may not be intentional but most people underestimate the amount of calories, fat, the cop hydrates they eat in any given day. They also stretched truth a little as to how long they exercised.   If you’re supposed to exercise for 30 minutes and you only exercise for 20, you’re not giving yourself your fault do. Anyone would argue that 20 minutes of exercise is still better than zero minutes of exercise. But you’ll go further over the long haul and make more progress towards reaching your goal if you are honest about exactly what it is you’re doing. 
This goes for portion sizes, too. When you were preparing food at home no one is policing the size of your portions.  If you’re eating something healthy like fresh garden greens and lean meats it may not make a difference. You might be able to have that extra piece of chicken to make you feel full.

But there will come a time when you’ve reached your weight loss goal where you’ll start introducing higher calorie foods occasionally. When that happens, every calorie will count or you will end up gaining weight back.  It’s best to keep it honest right from the beginning.

 Foregoing Your Meal Plan for the Family’s Wishes

Let’s face it. Not everyone in your household will be on a diet and not everyone will want to eat the same foods you need to eat to lose weight. Does that mean they need to suffer or give up their favorite foods or snacks because you’re trying to get yourself fit?

·         It’s easy to cave to the pressure of family members who don’t want or don’t need to follow a strict diet.

·         It’s also tiring to have to make two different meals to satisfy different people.

Remember that no one is going to keep you on track but you. When they are differing menu choices for the family, make sure you incorporate your diet meal into the overall meal plan.

For instance, if everyone else is having tacos for dinner, instead of using high calorie, hydrated tortillas, make a taco salad for yourself.  You’ll get the fresh greens you need in high quantities but still be able to enjoy eating a special meal with your family.  Whenever possible try to look for ways to incorporate the types of food your family likes of the types of food you need to stay on your diet. You may even be able to convert them into enjoying some

healthier foods with your example.

When You Fall, Pick Yourself Back Up

We’re not perfect. Occasionally, you will find that you have cheated on your diet or skipped your exercise program and think you’ve blown it. Instead of getting right back on the wagon after you’ve fallen, you continue cheating and then decide to start back up eating right and exercising the next day.

While I applaud you for getting right back on that wagon and getting back into your weight loss and fitness program again, I need to caution you about the mindset of blowing it all the way.  You’re right.  We’re human and we make mistakes. But there are mistakes. And then there are disasters.

If you overindulge one evening or cheat on your diet the best thing for you to do as soon as you realize your mistake is to stop right there and make yourself get right back on track.  If you have a piece of chocolate cake and figure you’ve blown your calorie intake for the evening so you have another piece of cake or worse, did not only added extra calories from the chocolate cake, but you have added to show categories that you’ll then have to work harder to get rid of, when you do get back into the program.

Allow yourself to be human and don’t beat yourself up if you do cheat on your diet or exercise program.  But as soon as you recognize that make sure you stop and get right back on the program to prevent further damaging your momentum.  It’s not enough to say that you’ll do an extra set of crunches or next 15 minutes of aerobics. You want your body to be in balance, to lose fat and gain muscle in a slow and steady pace.

Remember, it takes to three weeks to start a new habit.  But it takes just one day to break it.