There are a million and one reasons why someone decides to switch over to a healthy as well as a sustainable diet plan. It could be because you want to lose some weight, it could also be that you want a detox from your usual sugar heavy foods or it could just seem like a great option for a wellness based lifestyle. Whatever may be your own particular reason for embarking on this journey, it can be thrilling to start it but just as challenging to stick with it as the going starts getting tougher and tougher.
If you plan to start with such a diet plan but have doubts if you will actually be able to stick with it, or you have previously jumped on to this bandwagon many times but always end up falling from it after just a couple of days, then this is just the article for you. In this blog post, we will be discussing some dos and don'ts which can make it just a tad bit easier to follow through with this routine. If you make a point to put these tips to practice, you will notice that you will be much less likely to give up after a few days. If you would like to know about this topic, then just keep on reading!
- Never Ever Indulge In Fad Diets:
Fad diets are the kind of diets which tend to focus on a particular trend or ‘fad’ which is prevalent during that particular time period. Since these diets have the sole purpose of generating shock in everyone, they tend to steadily get more popular as compared to healthy sustainable ones. More often than not, these diets only cause more harm than good in the long run. So make it a point to not follow these, even if they seem crazy and amazing to you. Always opt for a diet which you can sustain for a long period of time without compromising on your overall health and wellness.
- Focus On Overall Wellness:
Instead of focusing on one particular goal which can motivate you to start with this routine, opt for a more holistic approach to the entire practice. For example, if your goal is to look better, do not just focus on losing weight as that is just one aspect of your entire body’s health. Instead focus on making your body more functional and capable of doing everything. In the same vein, prioritise mental and physical wellness instead of just losing kilos. Opting for a body fat analyser instead of a simple weighing scale can make all the difference in such a case. Your weight can depend on a lot of factors like bone density, height and age. But you need to focus on losing the excessive fat on your body, which the former device can help you to effectively recognise.
- Find Appropriate Help:
If you are just starting out and are confused about how to sustain on this path, a good idea would be to seek professional help. Just like when you have an illness, a doctor is the best person to guide you about what all medicines to take, a nutritionist is the best person to ask for guidance on a healthy diet plan. Another great thing about this is that the nutritionist will access your particular body’s unique food requirements and customise your diet plan accordingly. They can also help to set you off on the right path and make it more sustainable and easy for you to follow through with your fitness plans.
- Do Not Punish Yourself:
One major pitfall of diet culture is that it is made out to be way more rigid than it actually needs to be. Having a healthy diet plan means that you keep a check on what you eat, not to avoid eating anything remotely unhealthy at all. In retrospect, most common foods have some element of unhealthy in them. So it really isn’t a sustainable option to completely give these up, especially if you are in the habit of gorging on these regularly. If you do this, sooner or later you will find your resolve crumbling. Instead of this, you can control the portion sizes of these foods in your diet but do not completely abstain from them as that just makes you want them much more.
- Limit Eating Food From Outside:
Some seemingly healthy foods from restaurants or cafes can actually turn out to be deceptively unhealthy. This is because you usually are not able to tell the ingredients which go into takeout foods. This aspect can be way more controllable if you make most of your meals at home. This way you can use healthier alternatives. The fact of the matter is that your calories can add up more than you realise when you regularly order in or eat out. Try to find innovative healthy recipes online to stop you from getting tempted to eat something other than home cooked meals.
- Set Flexible Goals:
While it is good to have goals, sometimes they can do more harm than good. Goals are a great way to channel us onto the right path so that we can keep checking our progress, and course correct if the need arises. But the key here is to not be too rigid with yourself. Listening to your body is one of the best things to do to maintain sustainable health and wellness in the long term. Do not be too ambitious in your goal setting process as this can make you feel like you failed, leading to a significant drop in your motivation levels to continue on.
- Avoid Cold Weather Binging:
Winters are definitely a challenging time to embark on your healthy and sustainable diet plan. This is because of the extreme cold during these months. As a result of that, your body wants to stay warm so it asks you to eat more fatty foods as these do provide some amount of warmth. Just being conscious of this fact and controlling the urge to binge unnecessarily can help you to navigate the winter months without developing any unhealthy habits along the way.
So if you want to start off with a healthier diet plan, make sure to keep these dos and don'ts in mind to avoid any kind of challenges that may plague you along the way!