Content

• To step
• Part 1 of 3: Staying motivated
• Part 2 of 3: Avoid temptation
• Part 3 of 3: Don't punish yourself
• Tips
• Warnings

Creating a diet plan is hard enough, but sticking to it is even more difficult. Maybe you've been dieting for months, or just a few weeks, and find it difficult to stay motivated and keep track of your goal. If you really want to stick to your diet, then you will have to find a way to stay on track, avoid temptations, and make your diet plan as fun as possible. If you want to know how to stick to a diet, follow these easy steps.

To step

Part 1 of 3: Staying motivated

1. Come up with a strategy and stick to it. You can stay motivated by setting goals and sticking to them throughout the course of the diet. If your goal is no more than "losing weight" then you will not be nearly as motivated as if you have a specific goal in mind and a plan on how to achieve it. This is what you should do:
   • First, find out how much weight you want to lose and how quickly. Make sure you set realistic goals. You can't lose 25 pounds in a month, but you can lose 2.5 pounds if you stick to a plan. Your due date could be a specific time, such as your wedding, your friend's beach BBQ, or the start of a new school year.
   • Develop a strategy for each week. How much weight do you want to lose per week? Pick a day to weigh yourself each week. Don't weigh yourself every day or you will become obsessed with your weight.
   • Set up a training schedule for each week. While it's not possible to plan your exercise schedule months in advance, you can schedule a few days at the beginning of each week to exercise.
   • You can stick to your plan by keeping a log of what you eat, how much you exercised, and how much weight you lost each week. This log can be very helpful, but just make sure you don't obsess over keeping track of every bit of food you eat.
   • You can also keep a journal that shows your thoughts about dieting and helps you analyze what has and what has not worked. This helps you to get in touch with yourself.
2. Stay mentally strong. When you start slipping, remind yourself why you are on a diet. Do you want to get in shape for the new bikini season, or does losing weight have a significant effect on your health? Do you just want to get rid of that awkward 10 kilos you've gained since graduation? Whatever the reason, keep making it clear to yourself that you are determined to stick to your plan so that you can achieve the goal you set. Here are a few ways to stay mentally strong when you feel like giving up:
   • Keep in mind a picture of what you want to change about yourself, such as mental before and after pictures. If you don't feel like going to the gym or want to indulge in a tub of ice cream, just keep your target image in mind.
   • Place motivational texts on your computer or hang them above your desk. This will help you remember your reasons for dieting.
   • If you want to go back to your old weight, you can put a photo from that time on your desk.
   • Keep an index card with you in your purse or purse, listing all the reasons you have for dieting, so you can read it whenever you forget why you're dieting again.
3. Reward yourself for good behavior. It takes a lot of mental strength to maintain a diet, and you should occasionally remind yourself of the great achievement you are doing. If you reward yourself for good behavior, you will be more motivated to stick with it and continue losing weight. Here's how to do that:
   • Reward yourself every time you lose 2.5 or 5 pounds. Depending on how much weight you want to lose, you should set up a reward system for each time you reach a new target weight. You can treat yourself to a bowl of ice cream with whipped cream or your favorite meal and feel better.
   • If you've been eating really healthy all week, reward yourself on the weekend. You can't really eat very healthy every day of your life.
   • Don't forget to tell yourself how great you are every time you've lost a pound. Your weight loss rewards don't always have to be food. You can agree that you can buy a new pair of shoes if you stick to the diet for a month.
4. Don't diet alone. You will be much more motivated if you have a diet buddy or other friends you can share all of your diet misery with. This will make it easier for you to stay on track as there is someone there to encourage you. You can do this to make sure you don't diet alone:
   • Find a diet buddy. If you are trying to make your body healthier with someone else you know, you can share tips, train together and motivate each other. Creating a joint workout schedule, or agreeing to share a healthy meal together every week, can help you stay on track.
   • Join a diet club like the Weight Watchers. Whether you attend Weight Watchers meetings or just use the online resources, you will be motivated to know that there are thousands of people in the same boat as you.
   • If you can't find a diet or exercise buddy, find someone you can confide in, such as a friend or life partner. That person can help you stay focused on your goal and can listen to you if you are having a hard time sticking to your diet.

Part 2 of 3: Avoid temptation

1. Eat three meals a day. When you omit meals, you just feel tired, sluggish and hungry, which crumbles your motivation. Choose foods such as oatmeal for breakfast that will keep you feeling full for longer and avoid unhealthy snacks before lunch. Eat dinner as soon as possible from work or school so you don't end up gobbling when you get home.
   • Remember that breakfast is really the most important meal of the day. If you skip those, you will be much hungrier when it comes time for lunch and dinner, and you will eat more.
   • Don't skip a meal just because you feel guilty about the indulgence from the night before. That would take you even further from home.
   • If you have a busy schedule, try to plan when to eat three meals.This will help you avoid tempting foods that you may encounter at the time of the skipped meal.
2. Throw out any unhealthy food in your home. While you shouldn't have to throw out all the food in your fridge and pantry, minimizing unhealthy foods in your home will make it less likely that you will eat it. You can walk past all the unhealthy food in your house and decide whether you want to throw it away, let a family member eat it, or take it to work and give it away.
   • Certain foods that you think are unhealthy are only in excess. For example, if you eat a bowl of peanut butter, it won't help you maintain your weight, but if you can change this so that you only have a tablespoon of peanut butter with some celery at a time, then you can keep it.
   • You can also get rid of unhealthy foods in your home by creating a grocery list that includes only the healthy foods you want to eat. When you go shopping, only buy the foods on the list so you don't come home with a new batch of unhealthy foods.
   • Replace unhealthy foods with healthy ones. Discard the ice cream and replace it with yogurt. Always keep some options at home for snacks.
3. Control your eating habits when you are on the go. The trick is not to think, "Oh, I'm going out tonight, so I'm completely interrupting my diet now and picking it up again tomorrow." While you will be faced with more temptations at parties or at a dinner with your friends, you really don't have to give up your diet completely that night. Here's how to stay on track while you're out:
   • Eat before going to a party. If you're going to a party where you know you'll come across a lot of delicious snacks, eat a hearty meal beforehand so you're less likely to get hungry and grab a bite anyway. You can even eat a little more than usual, as what you eat at home will always be a healthier alternative than what you will find at a party.
   • Take snacks with you wherever you go. If you go somewhere where there is not much healthy choice of snacks, such as at the cinema, take a bag of almonds, grapes, or college oats with you to avoid eating greasy popcorn as a snack.
   • Choose the healthiest options of what you can choose during a dinner. When dining out, choose the healthiest options on the menu, such as grilled chicken, brown rice, or a salad, rather than the fattiest ones. You can also eat healthy when you eat out.
   • Choose healthy snacks over unhealthy ones. If you are at a party where there are loads of snacks, eat from the snacks in the vegetable section or have pita chips instead of brownies or nachos.
4. Eat at home as much as possible. Eating at home is the easiest way to avoid temptation. When you cook at home, you have control over everything on the menu. However, when you eat out, you don't have as much control over what you eat, even though there are healthy options. Here's how to get the most out of eating at home:
   • Become a chef. If you develop a love for cooking, you will be more motivated to cook and enjoy looking for new, healthy recipes.
   • Invite your friends to eat at your place instead of eating out. Once you've developed your cooking skills, suggest preparing dinner when a friend invites you to dinner. Not only is that much cheaper, but you will also be able to eat healthier in a more intimate atmosphere.
   • Try to eat lunch at home or bring a packed lunch if possible. It's easy to indulge in fast food, especially if you have a busy workday, but if you bring a simple sandwich or salad with you from home, you will be less likely to eat unhealthy foods during the day.

Part 3 of 3: Don't punish yourself

1. Love what you eat. There is no point in starting a diet with the intention of eating things you cannot enjoy just because you lose weight. Try different recipes and do small things to reduce the amount of fat you consume. Dieting doesn't mean eating foods you otherwise hate, but discovering new and healthier foods that can help you shed some pounds. You can do the following:
   • Visit a farmer's market near you or the vegetable section of your grocery store. Make it your goal to choose one piece of new fruit per week and one vegetable and learn how to make a delicious dish with them.
   • Avoid foods you hate. If you dislike the taste of tofu or really hate whole grain rice, don't torture yourself by forcing yourself to eat it.
   • Look for ways to put a healthy spin on your favorite meal. If you like spaghetti and meatballs, try whole grain pasta and vegetarian meatballs for a variety.
2. Find a sport that you enjoy. Dance or participate in various sports such as tennis or swimming. If you find something that you enjoy doing, it is much more likely that you will do it often. If you enjoy running, this can be a way to catch some sun and enjoy a nice view. You can approach this as follows:
   • Don't do anything that feels like torture. If you've always hated running, then you don't have to. Instead, make it a goal to take a 20-minute walk every day, if you enjoy it.
   • Try workouts you've never done before. Engage in dancing, yoga or pilates and who knows, you might find a new passion.
   • Alternate it. If you don't mind running, but you don't want to do it three times a week, you can go for a run one day, do yoga the next, and swim the third day. This will keep your mind and body active and you won't get bored while exercising.
   • Don't overdo it. There is no need to exercise every day, or 5 or 6 times a week for a great workout. Let your body rest when you are tired and you will enjoy the days when you "do exercise" even more.
3. Don't starve yourself. You won't be able to stick to your diet if you find yourself so hungry that any kind of food seems appealing. If you are hungry, you will be less able to make a well-considered choice about what to eat next. Being hungry can also make you feel weak, moody, fatigued, and generally negative. You can avoid hunger in the following way:
   • Have a light meal or snack every few hours. Don't try to go on for 5-6 hours without eating.
   • Always take healthy snacks with you on the go.
   • If you know you will be late for lunch or dinner, plan a snack in your day or you will be too hungry when it comes time for a main meal.
   • Don't starve yourself. A starvation diet for women means that they eat less than 1,200 calories per day and men less than 1,500 calories. Not only will you feel faint and lightheaded this way, but it is also dangerous and difficult to sustain in the long run.
4. Treat yourself now and then. In addition to the occasional reward for successfully completing a task, you should also take mini-diet breaks from time to time and pamper yourself from time to time so you don't feel trapped in your new routine. As long as this indulgence doesn't plunge you into a downward spiral of binge eating, it will only make you feel better.
   • If all of your friends are eating out and you know the food isn't healthy, don't pass this up just because you know it won't help with your diet. If you really want to see your friends, go for the healthier choices or enjoy the unhealthy food and just hit the gym afterwards.
   • Occasionally indulge your cravings for treats. If you really crave a chocolate chip cookie, it is much better to just eat one than eat everything in your pantry that isn't a chocolate chip cookie.
   • Eat a "regular meal" every now and then. Agree with yourself that you can eat whatever you want after 5 or 10 healthy meals. This will keep you focused on your goal of eating healthy for most of the time.

Tips

• Small changes make a big difference. Use smaller plates that make your portions look bigger so you don't feel like you need to eat more. Eat slowly and you will feel full faster because your brain will have time to find out that you are full, and then you will eat less with minimal effort.
• If you can't get rid of everything, get rid of unhealthy foods. This will reduce the temptation to eat it.
• Don't forget to indulge now and then. Taking a diet break from time to time will motivate you to stick to your diet or else you will feel constantly under pressure to eat a healthy diet.
• Having a diet buddy or exercise partner is a great way to motivate yourself to stick to the diet.

Warnings

• Maintaining a healthy diet is one thing, but obsessing over your eating habits in such a way that you can hardly think about anything else is another. If you think you are developing an eating disorder, seek help immediately.
• Dieting is a great way to lose weight, but you have to be yourself not starve to achieve your goal. If a woman eats less than 1200 calories a day or a man less than 1500 calories, the body is not getting enough healthy nutrients to function.