You start a diet, you see some success after a week, you feel happy. And then…
You get tempted by some cookies at the store or some that your coworker brought in. Or the cravings for pizza hit you hard.
Yep, I’ve been there myself. The cravings. They’re annoying.
So how do you even overcome this?
Well, thankfully, it’s not as hard as it seems. In fact, you just need to change a few bad habits and put the good ones in place. And then you’re all set. The system of good habits are in place and you can grow your healthy lifestyle more and more.
So, ready to destroy that overwhelm?
1. Try 2 Cheat Days Instead
I used to do a cheat day and then stuff myself SICK. It was pretty dumb.
In fact, I would notice a weight gain after just that one day. So I feel that it’s important to spread it out over 2 days instead and eat some unhealthy meals moderately. I don’t mean you have to eat unhealthy food for each meal of the day. But pick a few things you want to eat on those day and stick to them.
I feel that psychologically, not limiting yourself to just 1 day, helps you not go overboard and makes you feel more satisfied with things.
Because when it’s just 1 day, you think, “Oh gosh! I need to fit everything into this one day, or I’ll miss out!” And then you overdo it and there’s no limit.
2. You Don’t Have to Starve Yourself
Yes, going on a calorie deficit is one of the quickest ways to see results. But you don’t have to put yourself down to 500 or 600 calories a day to lose weight. I would definitely do some research to see what would be best for your body and even talk to a doctor before taking any of my advice.
Also, it’s just a known fact that if you starve yourself, you’re more likely to want to overeat later on and ruin any results you would have had.
Lastly, it’s easy finding out what your healthy weight is by using this adult BMI calculator here.
3. Your Water Intake
Yes yes, I know. You’ve already heard about how you need to drink water to lose weight. And the minimum would be around 8 glasses a day.
BUT, here’s a nice hack.
Get a 2 quart or a gallon jug and pour water from it throughout the day. It’s up to you how big you want your water intake to be, but this is just a great way to make sure you don’t lose count and you have a small goal to reach each day.
And for simple math, here’s how many cups are in each:
2 Quart Jug: 8 cups
1 Gallon Jug: 16 cups
4. Pick the Right Exercises to Do Regularly
It’s important to do some sort of exercise each day, and it does NOT have to start off as a 30 or 40 minute exercise. You could do as little as 5 or 10 minutes and call it good. That’s honestly a great way to work your way up.
But what’s really important is that you pick the right exercises for you. Ones that YOU like.
Don’t pick ones that will make you want to give up quickly. Pick ones that make you want to do them. Things like…
- Bicycling
- Swimming
- Dance party
- Ultimate Frisbee
- Hiking
- Play Catch
- Sports
- Kayaking
5. Casual Carbs?
Casual carbs is a name my husband and I had given to carbs that we eat with meals that don’t really excite us.
They’re basically fillers for meals. Things like rice or potatoes.
So our goal is to cut out any “casual carbs” for the most part, so that we can lose weight more quickly.
And I’m NOT saying you can never have them, but try to cut them out for the most part and put in things like greens or chickpeas.
6. Avoid Self-Hate
Beating yourself up does 2 things:
- If you’re not seeing results quick enough, beating yourself up with unkind words and thoughts can make you want to give up.
- It makes you still feel dissatisfied with yourself even after you’ve reached your goal. Your mind is still used to looking for the negative aspects in yourself.
So it’s a good idea to start giving yourself love now and work on seeing yourself as attractive. Because once you get to the weight you’ve been aiming for, you’ll have a better appreciation for yourself that doesn’t come from weight loss.
7. Finding the RIGHT Substitutes
I HATE it when someone says, “Oh, it tastes JUST like {insert some unhealthy food},” because I know it almost always means that it does not taste like that.
So that’s why it’s so important to find the right healthy substitutes for your cravings.
You need to be willing to test and try different things until you find something that actually satisfies you. Your desires are important and so are your goals, so you need to do whatever you can to make sure you reach them and don’t give up because you find the process unfulfilling.
Tip: If you’re an adult, you can see if your BMI (Body Mass Index) suggests you’re underweight, at your healthy/ideal weight, or overweight for your height by using this simple adult’s BMI calculator here.
8. Alcohol
A lot of people don’t like to think about it, but drinking alcohol is a great way to take in empty calories and gain weight. So try finding healthier options that’ll help keep you on the path to your weight loss goal.
Losing weight isn’t always the most fun, but in the long run, it’s definitely worth looking after your health! So give some of these habits a try and see how your body thanks you!
And lastly, if you’re not a fan of BMI, we have other calculators you can use to discover your healthy weight, such as our BAI (Body Adiposity Index) Calculator here.