Starting a new diet and exercise routine can be overwhelming and nerve wracking. Everyone handles it so differently and yet most people make the same mistakes before even starting! Making these mistakes can derail your efforts, cause you to give up or cause you to see less results from all your hard work. Are you guilty of any?
1. Having Your “Last Meal”
While it may seem like a good idea to binge on your favorite food before starting a diet to get it out of your system, more often than not it tends to backfire. Spending the day or weekend indulging in your favorite treats before the infamous “I’m Starting on Monday” can cause you to have more cravings. I mean ask yourself, how often has this worked for you?
Its so easy to get carried away when you tell yourself you’re just going to enjoy one meal before getting started and next then the next thing you know its been a week of it. Don’t fall into this trap!
2. Waiting for the “Right Time”
There are so many people who wait for the exact right time to start their diet and exercise routine. They continually put off starting because there is too much else going on for them to focus. I hate to be the one to break it to you but there never will be a right time to get started.
Instead of waiting for the right time, you should just get started. If you want to read more about the “right time” we have an entire post dedicated to it.
https://patienceconsistency.com/the-right-time/
3. Dreading It
If you want to lose weight, get in shape, etc. but are dreading the process how are you going to actually accomplish it? I know so many people who struggle with this. They are constantly talking about how they are going to start a diet but they don’t want to at all.
Starting something new or beginning to work towards something with the mindset of not even wanting to do it will yield less success. So much of our mentality dictates our success level.
4. Using Exercise As Punishment
A very common trap to fall into is the need to punish yourself with exercise. For example, I ate a piece of cake today so tomorrow I have to work out for three hours to burn it off. You should look forward to your workouts! Instead of thinking of exercise as something you have to do, think of it as something you want to do. If you’ve exercised previously and didn’t enjoy it, try something new this time. Better yet, find a group class you can join that runs three times a week, find a friend to workout with or work with a personal trainer in the beginning so you can get yourself started on the right track.
Are you guilty of any of these when you go to start a new diet and exercise regimen? What will you do differently the next time to help you stay more accountable and successful? Tell us in the comments below!
I agree with these things so much. The more I dread my workout, the worse it is. However if I go in with a positive attitude I can usually rock out something that I am at least partially happy with. I think another thing people have to watch out for is having too big of goals and not giving themselves credit for the small wins.
Yes, that is so essential! I completely agree, I cover a lot of that in a similar post about celebrating our non-scale victories!
I always seem to binge on my favorite food before starting a diet. The thought is to eat what I can because I won’t be able to the next day. Then the next day comes and my diet never starts. LOL. I do try to workout daily which helps :).
That is such a common cycle for most people! Working out daily is definitely helpful!
I totally agree with your ideas. I never realized that binge eating before you start a diet could make it even harder to start.
It really does!
Starting a diet is always difficult. We should always be happy for every small win. This is a very inspirational article!
Thank you!
I am guilty of all of these! These are great tips! Another one is do not beat yourself up! I have been on Paleo for a year and beat myself up with I fall off the wagon!
Exactly, don’t beat yourself up if you fall off the wagon – just get right back on track and you’ll be fine 🙂
I know some people in who punish themselves after eating unhealthy like dessert or high in calories. Then the next day they will exercise more. But I don’t think it’s necessary, as sometimes treating yourself or eating lots doesn’t mean your diet is ruined. As long as not often then I think it’s good. Though that’s as for me waiting for the right time is my biggest wall last time. But now I manage to overcome it and thank God I didn’t use it as mantras. lol
Exactly, if you are staying consistent with your healthy eating one bad meal will not undo it and you do not need to spend hours upon hours of exercising the next day to make up for it!
Omg I am too guilty of the last meal diet sin and “starting on Monday”. Then again I never said which Monday :p. Great article.
Everyone is! Next time you want to start, get started right there and then!
These are so great to make healthy changes. I know I tend to start things too powerfully instead of a natural transition.
I can’t agree more, I’m so guilty of the last one. Every time I feel like I have broken my diet routine, i decide to take extra steps to get back on track..its always more like punishment though.
As long as you’ve been consistent for a long period of time, one bad meal will not throw you off track!
I have probably experienced all four of these mistakes. It is so true that it can cause your getting healthy/exercise efforts to fail.
Agreed!
Yes! For sure – these points resonate!! Me Nader and attitude has everything to do with success. Clearing your mind and programming it positively will set you up for success!
I completely agree!
I started a new way of eating with Noom and I am happy with it so far. I used to be a veteran in diets!
Awesome, good luck with it!
Binge eating before going on a diet is the worst thing you can do. It messes with how your body functions and makes it even harder to meet your goals.
Agreed!
Great tips, totally agree with them. The fourth one is really the common mistake when thinking about dieting.
Definitely!
In all honesty, starting a fitness journey is challenging. After, delivering the baby I will focus on a healthier lifestyle to loose the baby weight. However, I agree we all wait for the right time. When in reality anytime is the right time.
I’m on my postpartum fitness journey as well, there really is no right time when you are at home with a baby!
Yes these are all counterproductive ways to start a diet. This is how they fail because people are startin a diet on a bad foundation.
Agreed!
You’ve absolutely nailed it. I can honestly say I’m doing all of these things and that’s probably why it’s not working.
Start adjusting what you can and you’ll be amazed at the results you start to see!
I am so guilty on the “last meal” and waiting for the right time. lol! I know I need to decide and be serious about this.
Get started now! You’ll thank yourself in a few weeks 🙂
Great pointers on this one. I don’t believe in the whole, “last meal” thing or making yourself feel as though the workout is a punishment.
Exactly, they end up doing more harm than good!
Yep, I can relate to most of these. Usually, it’s waiting for just the right time to start eating healthy, and of course needing to clean out all the unhealthy foods first…by eating them!
The right time is always right now, you can start working towards your goals sooner than you realize.