We all know that dieting can be a heck of a challenge, especially if you are not used to eating healthy and/or if you have poor eating habits to begin with. But it certainly does not have to be an impossible feat.
One of the biggest mistakes a lot of people make is that they look at dieting from the wrong angle. A “diet” is not something that should be viewed or treated like a short-term fad. It should not be thought of as something you do for a “quick fix” to a weight problem or health issue. A diet should be a complete change in lifestyle, in a sense, a complete overhaul of your eating habits. Your diet should become your way of life, a habit of eating that you stick to on a day-to-day basis for the long haul.
When you start thinking about your diet this way, it will make it easier for you to motivate yourself to stick with it.
Starting Small
The first part of getting motivated on a diet is to make a decision to change your heating habits for the better. You will need to set a long-term dieting goal for yourself. For example, say you want to eventually become a full-fledged 100% vegetarian or vegan, or maybe you want to eventually only eat organic. The best way for you to start out on your journey towards accomplishing your goal, is to begin with small, realistic changes.
You cannot become a vegetarian or vegan overnight, and if you try to do so, you are most likely setting yourself up for certain failure. Changing your diet is a lot like changing any other habit you may have, and it is going to take time, effort, and motivation. In order to be successful on a diet, motivation is going to be the key.
Taking Dieting ‘Baby Steps’
Now that you have decided on your long-term dieting goal, the next step is to map out a plan on how to reach it. You will want to map this plan out one step at a time. For example, if your goal is to become a vegan, you can start by replacing one meal of one day with a “vegan meal.” Or, you can try something like making one particular day of the week your “vegan day.” Choose your baby steps reasonably and wisely. You know yourself better than anyone so you can decide to start with either one meal or one whole day.
Staying Motivated
The best part of taking baby steps one at a time is that these are what will help you stay motivated on your new diet plan. Making realistic changes, one step at a time is the key to staying on the road to dieting success. You will feel proud of yourself every time you accomplish one of these baby steps, and this is what will keep you motivated to continue moving forward and sticking to your diet plan.
As you increase your steps, meal by meal, or day by day, your baby steps will eventually turn into leaps and bounds. Before you know it, you will be well on your way to reaching your dieting goal. Every step you take towards your goal will make it easier and easier to stay motivated. Once you get to the last step of your plan, your new diet will have become a “force of habit.” You will be patting yourself on the back for changing your entire diet for the better, and you’ll have a newfound motivation to keep it that way.
