The All-or-Nothing Mindset

Have you ever filled up on your favorite foods the day before a diet? Or slipped off your diet and then figured the damage is done, so why not go for broke? If so, you've fallen victim to the all-or-nothing mentality, and research shows that people who think this way are more likely to overeat when they believe they've blown their diets (and then they feel like this angry dieting piggy.)

Changing this mindset and adopting a more moderate approach can help you achieve lasting weight loss. Nobody can be good all the time and if you expect that from yourself, you really are setting yourself up for failure, because there are occasions when you want to eat whatever you feel like, and there are times you need treats.

Here are a few solutions:

• Think differently. Changing your eating habits takes time and practice. Pick a catchphrase to focus on when the going gets tough such as
  
• "Progress not perfection"
  
• "I deserve to eat healthfully"
  
• "Every day is an opportunity to eat better"
  
• "Every little step adds up"
• "How will I feel after I eat that..."
  
• Include your favorite foods. Instead of being "on" a diet or "off" it, shoot for eating nutritiously in a way you enjoy and can continue to do. If you deprive yourself of your favorite foods, you'll be miserable and more likely to binge or abandon your healthy eating plan. (Myself for example I have to have ice cream and brownies in my food plan or I'll go crazy.)
  
• Change your dietary focus. Expand your diet to include a wider variety of fruits and vegetables. Make a conscious effort to eat produce, and you'll naturally wind up consuming fewer calories. Aim for a minimum of five servings a day.
• Honor your hunger. Break the diet mindset that says that feeling hungry is a good sign. Go too long without eating, and you'll feel tired and cranky and more likely to overeat when you finally do eat. Feed your body on a regular schedule.
• Stay on track. Slipping off your diet doesn't mean your weight loss efforts have been sunk. Even if you had two donuts for breakfast, you can still opt for a light lunch and dinner. By not letting minor setbacks derail you, you'll help ensure that your healthier habits have a lasting effect.
• Lastly, get rid of the mindset that there are good foods and bad foods. You can eat everything within moderation. It's just when we overindulge and consume too much of one thing that we end up feeling guilty.