One of the first things we hear when dieting is an enormous amount of shoulds from family, friends and even complete strangers.
You should use this new diet I read about…
You really should try eating this…
You know, you should start thinking about joining a gym…
One of the most frustrating things we have to deal with during any diet is the feeling that you’re being deprived from eating good food. Depending on the type of diet you’re on, what we would typically consider really good tasting foods are now forbidden to us, while we watch family and friends happily enjoying them all around us.
We hear it all the time from friends, family and co-workers telling us there is power in “positive thinking.” And when you’re dieting and trying to reach your weight loss goal, thinking positive is great advice. It helps keep us upbeat when our goal seems far away and helps us to envision how good we’re going to feel when we reach a healthy weight.
Positive thinking leads to a positive attitude, and when making a major life change, we need to have a good mental outlook.
But you don’t hear much about how to manage your weight loss with “negative thinking.”
t’s true – studies have shown that writing down everything you eat or drink helps you lose weight faster and more effectively. Now before you click to close this post in annoyance, please realize that I’ve lost 217 pounds in just 13 months, and I’ve kept a food journal every single day.
Did that get your attention?
You can believe me when I say I was not thrilled about starting a food journal with this latest endeavor to reach a healthy weight last year.
“… you just need diet and exercise.”
“… referring you to see a dietician.”
“… do you think you have an eating disorder?”
“… you need to diet harder.”
How many times have you heard lines like these from your family doctor?
