If you’re serious about your weight loss efforts, you definitely need to prepare and pick a good time to start making changes in your diet. Even the best diets can get abandoned quickly if you start them when you’re not completely ready for a big change.
Discover the worst ways to start a diet, from taking on too many dietary restrictions combined with intense workouts to starting out with the wrong motivation. Avoid these simple mistakes if you want to increase the chances of your diet succeeding.
Being Unprepared
There are many things that can go wrong if you start your first day on the diet without the right preparation. Make sure that you clean your pantry from the big temptation foods that get in the way.
You should also have a meal plan ready for more than the first few days. Consider the time you’ll spend shopping and preparing your meals, so you don’t run into any unexpected obstacles.
Taking on Too Much at Once
When you’re making a change from a sedentary lifestyle to eating healthier and staying active, one of the worst ways to start a diet is to start it at the same time as a grueling workout routine. Combining a weight loss diet with exercise is a great way to make progress, but be realistic about how much you can take on without risking getting tired and giving up after just a few days.
Relying on “Diet” Foods and Beverages
While many weight loss plans promise to sell you the “perfect” diet foods or beverages, they only work in the short term at best. Without an organized plan, it’s an even worse idea to rely on diet foods hoping that they’ll help you out. Diet sodas and foods with sugar substitutes aren’t a good way to lose weight and keep it off, and they can also increase cravings at the beginning of your diet.
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After a Lot of Binge Eating
Reducing your calorie intake suddenly after indulging yourself for a while is not really a good way to start your weight loss plan. That’s why trying to lose weight right after the holidays can be one of the worst ways to start a diet. You’ll quickly forget about your motivation and you’ll end up giving up because it’s too hard to stick to your plan.
Starting in January
Most New Year’s resolutions fail by the end of January, but dieting in order to lose weight is even harder to follow through when you start it on the first day of the year. Even if you don’t live in a cold climate, putting big restrictions on yourself right after eating a lot just doesn’t really work out. Instead of making big plans and failing, start making small changes in January and move on to bigger ones in February.
Lacking Support
You should be able to count on at least two people who are close to you in order to stick to your weight loss plan. Making drastic changes without any support is definitely one of the worst ways to start a diet. When you can’t count on anyone close to you to help you stay motivated and cheer you on, then you should at least join an online fitness community.
Starting Right Before a Special Day
One of the biggest obstacles in sticking to your diet is having to deal with birthdays, anniversaries or other holidays right after you start. Plan your diet correctly, so you don’t have to say no to cake on a special occasion.
Doing It for Someone Else
If you’re not in it for yourself, you’re going to deal with one of the worst ways to start a diet. Don’t diet in the hopes that your hot co-worker will finally notice you or to please your partner. You’ll be able to stay motivated better if you do it for yourself.
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Starting on a Tuesday
A British study from Tesco Diets found that the worst day to start dieting is a Tuesday. You’re a lot more likely to give up by Friday if you do. The best days to start a new diet are Sunday and Monday, according to the data collected from 2000 participants.
Using Negative Motivation
Telling yourself that you have to diet because you hate your body is definitely one of the worst ways to start a diet. Using negative emotions to stick to a diet is self-defeating and will not help you out in the long run.
