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!
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