Why Diets Fail

By Dr Mary Grogan

Why Diets Fail
Try these basic Cognitive Behaviour Therapy tools to avoid diet traps and revitalise your exercise and meal habits this new year.

Make time for dieting

Plan your food in advance and keep a food diary which you monitor daily. Make time for exercise and realistically work out what needs to be cut down in order to do this.

Mindful eating

Be more mindful with eating patterns. Plan to sit down for three meals a day and actually be aware of what you are eating.

Plan to succeed

Respond to the inner saboteur that demands sweet treats by listing your reasons to lose weight and reading them often for in-the-moment motivation.

Just say no

If you are tempted to fall off the wagon, remind yourself how you’ll feel in the short term 
(a moment of pleasure followed by strong feelings of guilt) and the long term (discouraged and disappointed you weren’t able to stick to it versus how proud you’ll be if you prove you can say no).

Reward yourself

If you often say “just this one piece won’t hurt, I deserve it after my hard day” try “I deserve to feel comfort but there are other ways to get it”.

Soldier on

Realise that binges/mistakes are not the end of your diet. Get back on track straight away, without beating yourself up.

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