4 Reasons Your Diet Isn’t Successful

1. You don’t have a plan:

First, set a realistic timeline for your diet and then make a weekly plan; what are you going to eat this week? Which groceries will you need? Which days can you cook? If you go into the week unprepared, you may find yourself scrambling to put a healthy meal together and will likely order takeout

2. Weekend binges:

Maybe you eat like a saint Monday to Friday, but what about Saturday and Sunday? Dinners out, drinks, brunches, treats—it doesn’t take much for it to all add up and put you in a calorie surplus for the week. You can allow yourself one higher calorie meal, but don’t let it turn into a cheat day(s)

3. You lack patience:

Figure out how much weight you want to lose then work backwards to determine how long your diet will take, knowing healthy weight loss is 1-2lbs per week (give yourself a few extra weeks for setbacks, plateaus, etc). Commit to that timeline, choose a sustainable diet, then stick with it. You didn’t gain weight overnight and it’s going to take just as long, if not longer, to lose what you gained

4. Focusing solely on calories instead of food quality:

While calories in/calories out is critical, the quality of your food also matters. Do you get most of your protein from shakes and bars? Are most of your carbs from crackers and chips? Eating a variety of healthy food will help your workouts, immune system, mental health, and you’ll feel fuller when your calories get low