Why does everyone say that? What's wrong with today? And when can we stop saying the ‘diet’ word and start thinking about new eating habits? We all know diets don’t last forever and even if we lose weight or finish a cleanse, if we don’t adopt new eating patterns then our health will most certainly return to where it was before the ‘diet’.

When someone simply healthy eating, they often have a few stumbles before they get it right. But sometimes these stumbles can feel like a crash. Often called ‘falling off the wagon’, the best thing you can do is pick yourself up straight away, and take up where you left off, at the next meal. Try not to wipe the rest off the day off, let alone the week. You won’t even notice the occasional slip up. The best thing you can do is to try and keep it real and not be so hard on yourself.

A situation I often hear from my clients is that they severely restrict calories on Monday and Tuesday, usually because they ate so badly on the weekend. They smile at me and say “its ok though, it’s Monday so my diet starts today!” So they hardly eat anything for two days then by Wednesday they are basically over it. They are hungry and tired and can’t be bothered exercising. On Thursday they go out for lunch or dinner and decide to cheer themselves up, ordering from the menu with total abandon. On Friday they feel terrible as they’ve broken their ‘diet’ and the guilt and disappointment they feel leads them to having another night of splurging with friends. So then it’s the weekend and they think “I’ve deprived myself all week, and I really did try. I’ll just relax about things over the weekend and start again on Monday”. And so the Merry Go Round continues!

If you can identify with this you may be wondering why you have no energy and struggle to lose weight. Because your body isn’t in a routine you feel crappy all the time due to lack of nutrients and inconsistent meal times and lack of exercise.

Try to treat yourself to one meal on one day of the week. Steer away from daily treats which really aren’t that good for you but also make you feel guilty, an emotion which is probably not healthy to feel everyday! Your body will thank you and you’ll definitely enjoy your little splurges when you actually start to feel healthier and more in control of your lifestyle.

© Kylie Pogson 2005

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