One of the biggest mistakes I see made by someone that starts out on their fitness journey is trying to overcomplicate things, especially when it comes to diet. I’ve talked about this before, but it bears repeating.
Keep it simple.
Want to stick with your diet? Pick a few foods on your plan and eat them exclusively. Afraid you’ll “get sick” of eating the same foods over and over? Suck it up. You wanna get in shape or not?
Too many of us are stuck in the mindset of needing to have variety, keeping things interesting, trying new foods, etc. These are all just distractions and excuses keeping you from the ultimate prize: being your leanest, strongest, best version of yourself.
In order to be successful, it’s time to start changing the relationship you have with food. Stop associating food with the “good taste” it momentarily gives you, the temporary dopamine rush you get from the taste, and instead think of it as fuel for your body.
Taste is important, but it isn’t everything. Taste buds can change over time and cravings for certain foods can be overcome over time if you are consistent with an eating plan. Most of my committed clients notice cravings subside after a few weeks.
Most people don’t make it that long so never give an eating plan the most important factor to see if it’ll be successful in getting results or not: time. Give your eating plan 30 days MINIMUM before you start looking at results.
Remember, results and effectiveness shouldn’t just be measured by what you see in the mirror or the numbers on the scale. It’s your energy, strength levels, sleep quality, mood, it’s everything!
Think of all the free time you’ll have if you just get to eat the same foods every day. Less time preparing and planning for varied cook times, less time contemplating what it is you’ll eat.
Your time spent at the grocery store will decrease because you won’t spend so much time browsing the aisles, looking at what’s new that you can try, seeing what the latest fad foods are all packaged up in colorful ways to grab your attention. You can get in, get what you need, get out. Quick, fast, easy. Time is your most valuable asset… don’t spend so much of it deciding things like what you’ll have for dinner.
If you’re just trying to get in the best shape you can get in, lose that excess fat, build some muscle, improve your overall health, then you don’t need to be fancy.
Your chances of success actually increase the less fancy you get. So pick an eating plan, pick a few foods that will get you the right amount of daily nutrients from that eating plan, and keep it simple.
I wrote about different diet types here. I give a brief outline of the different diets out there. It’s brief, but if you’re new to all this, it’ll help you get a better idea of what’s out there.
I am currently doing the Carnivore Diet and it’s easy, simple, quick, and takes all the guesswork out of eating for me. I’ve also lost all cravings for carbs, sugar, and I’m experiencing steady energy throughout the day, fewer aches and pains, and I’m the leanest I’ve ever been (leaner than in high school). I wrote a bit more about my experiences thus far with the diet here and here. Give those a gander if you choose.
If you don’t want to commit to a particular diet… commit to a few basic principles. Eat whole, natural food. If it has more than one ingredient, don’t eat it. If it’s processed, don’t eat it. If it won’t go bad within a week of you buying it, don’t eat it.
So when trying to stick to an eating plan… keep it simple, change your relationship with food, approach and think of it as a fuel source and nothing more, and eat only whole, natural foods. Give everything time before deciding if it will work for you. Chances are, you’ll notice a difference.
I hope this has been helpful.
If you’re truly serious about your diet and exercise routine and would like a solid plan tailored to fit your needs with some accountability thrown in, schedule a consultation. First, read this.
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