Never Start A Diet on Monday

Anyone with a chronic weight problem knows that any great weight loss diet begins on Monday – or does it? Yes, we have all done it: Spent a weekend indulging in sweets and fats, assuring ourselves that on Monday we will be better, on Monday we will begin the last weight loss diet of our lives and be skinny in time to look good at the beach this summer. Definitely, on Monday we will eat at home, avoid all sweets and begin exercising. It is going to be great – on Monday.

Then Monday comes along, and though we start strong, we fall off the weight loss diet wagon by Tuesday. Wednesday, it is hard to get motivated, knowing that we “blew it” on Tuesday. Thursday we have dinner plans at a great restaurant, and the weekend is so busy, that is no time to start a weight loss diet. So, we decide, we will start to a new weight loss diet in full force on Monday.

The Best of Intentions

Unfortunately, the best laid weight loss diet plans often go awry. What eventually happens is that in anticipation of starting our life of food deprivation and insane exercise rituals on Monday, we overindulge all weekend long. We think this will be the last time I have a brownie until I have lost 30 pounds, or I will not be eating cake for a long time so I had better have a big piece now. We live happy and indulgent, secure in the knowledge that a new us will begin Monday. Then, again, Monday comes and goes, something prevents our amazing weight loss diet inspiration from hitting us, and again we are off the wagon in a day. But, hey, there is always Monday, we remind ourselves.

The Snowball Effect

While it is great to get motivated and make plans for embarking on a weight loss diet, there is also a danger in scheduling a diet to begin. The short is that when we know we are about to become deprived, we tend to imbibe, seeking to “get our fill” before the deprivation begins. When it comes to dieting, this means that we eat a lot in anticipation of eating little when the weight loss diet begins. But if the diet set date comes and goes without dieting, and we set another date, then overindulge in anticipation of that new date, the fact is that after a cycle or two (or three or four) of this, we have actually gained weight instead of losing it. It seems unfair, perhaps a bit ironic, but the fact is that planning to begin a diet on Monday actually makes us fatter!

Be Successful

Dieting is not easy; it requires discipline, dedication and determination. But there are two basic steps to avoiding this weight loss diet cycle of gaining rather than losing. First, never set a start date for a diet: start today. Simply decide one day that today is the day that you change your eating habits. This way, you do not have the opportunity to binge in anticipation, launching the weight gain cycle. Second, rather than dieting, change your entire way of eating to something more healthful. Anything that feels like a depriving weight loss diet is not going to be successful. Instead, simply decide one day that from now on you will make healthier choices in your eating habits. Take it slow, change one or two things at a time and get comfortable with it, and then make another change. Make it a lifestyle choice, not a deprivation diet, and you are much more likely to be successful in the long run.