How to Avoid Sabotaging Your Diet

Keep foods out of the house that don’t fit your diet plans. You can’t eat it if it’s not in your house. Get it out before it creates a challenge. Go through your refrigerator and pantry and identify all the foods that work against you and get rid of them.

Drink lots of water. We often eat because we’re thirsty, especially items like fruit, which contain a lot of water. Water is also filling if you drink enough of it. A tall, cool, glass of water every couple of hours is healthy and filling.

Take a moment of mindfulness. Sometimes the "urge" to eat is not due to true hunger. Pause, take a few deep breaths and evaluate if you are truly hungry or not. After a few minutes, you’ll often find that the urge goes away.

Focus on your why. What lead you to decide you needed to eat healthy? Lean into that and focus on the impact of making a decision to overeat or indulge too much in less healthy foods. If you make your long-term health a priority, you’ll be less likely to sabotage yourself if you’re thinking long-term.

Avoid cutting back too far. It took time to gain weight or get out of shape. Give yourself some time. Losing weight too quickly is a poor long-term strategy. Drastically cutting your calories will lead to stress, frustration, and eventually make you much more likely to go off the rails.

Take 1-2 weeks to track & measure your food. Most people haven't mastered the art of estimating serving sizes. Food scales are inexpensive, and their value to your goals in priceless. Knowing how much you are actually eating will give you critical insight. You might even be surprised how many calories you are actually consuming.

Strive for progress over perfection. You don't have to be perfect to get major results. A mistake is just a temporary pause. Shake it off and accept that your journey won't be a straight line. C'est la vie!

Make fiber your friend. Fiber is healthy and filling. Most people don’t get enough fiber. You can make it a point to eat foods high in fiber or take a fiber supplement. A high-fiber meal is very satiating, and the feeling lasts for quite a while.

Avoid eating out. Many fast food restaurants don’t have a good selection of healthy options. Restaurants can be a healthy dining option, but it’s very easy to make a significant mistake. Heavily processed food make it much more challenging to lose unwanted fat.

Get some exercise. Exercise decreases your appetite, burns calories, and makes it less likely you will sabotage your diet. Knowing that you worked hard to burn 300 calories during your workout will encourage you to follow up with healthy food choices.