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Tips for staying on your Low Calorie Diet
Many people start low calorie diets, and then quickly give up because of huger
pangs, lack of immediate results or other unanticipated complications.
Don’t let this be you! Here are some tips for sticking to your low calorie
diet:
- Keep a food diary (see above):
Seeing your successes will motivate you to keep at it.
Inevitably, as you consume fewer calories than you’re used to, your body will
experience a few unpleasant hunger pangs as your stomach adjusts to your new,
stricter food habits. Try the mind-over-matter technique: tell yourself that
as you’re not eating, your body is burning existing fat and you’ll soon lose
weight as a result. If self-talk alone is not enough, quell your hunger with
a snack of something healthy but low in calories, such as fruit.
Just because you’re on a low calorie diet, doesn’t mean you have to torture
yourself. Go easy on the fat intake, but keep up your intake of fiber rich carbohydrates,
like bread and potatoes. These “carbs” will fill you up, reducing those hunger
pangs that make you want to slip up.
- Carefully work out the calorie content:
Don’t just guess, or you’ll end up cheating without even meaning to.
- If you slip up, forgive yourself, then continue your low calorie diet.
A prohibited doughnut here or there won’t make or break your diet. Remember
that weight loss is a cumulative process. It’s important to discipline yourself
over time.
An advantage low calorie diets offer that other types of diets don’t is that
you can eat what you want. It’s the calories you’re controlling, not the types
of food. As long as you keep your calorie count within limits, you can still
eat many of the foods you enjoyed before—just in reduced or altered portions.
Work out a menu for yourself that includes some of your favourite foods. You’re
much more likely to stick to your diet if you’re actually enjoying the foods
you’re eating.
- Once you’ve developed new eating habits, stick to them:
Don’t just fall back into your old ways once you’ve reached your target weight.
Remember, your eating habits were less-than-stellar to begin with: that’s what
lead the “old you” to become overweight in the first place.
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