Want to know the reason why diets never work long-term?<\/p>\n
They\u2019re all about what you can\u2019t<\/em>\u00a0have.<\/p>\n No sugar. No carbs. No fat. No alcohol.<\/p>\n Have you ever wanted to stick to a diet long-term? Because the first thing I think about as soon as I start a diet is, when can I have some pizza?<\/p>\n Normally, it takes a decent amount of willpower to make good food choices during the day. Diets actually make this easier for the time you\u2019re following them because you\u2019ve made a pre-commitment to a certain set of rules. This doesn\u2019t guarantee you won\u2019t give in and cheat, but it helps your brain know there\u2019s an end with a reward to look forward to.<\/p>\n But it also means that your brain views this as a challenge, and a painful one at that. You have to fight cravings and memories of delicious food to be successful. Humans have an evolutionary bias toward doing things that are easy or bring pleasure. Since the diet itself does neither, your brain wants it to end as quickly as possible so you exert as little energy as possible.<\/p>\n That\u2019s why it\u2019s so easy to give into your favorite food the minute you reach your goal. Plus, your celebration becomes linked in your brain as a positive experience. Next time you\u2019re deciding what to eat, you remember how happy the post-diet celebration made you and you\u2019re much more likely to choose something that isn\u2019t diet approved.<\/p>\n How do you look and feel your best without depriving yourself? Here are 3 steps to get you started.<\/p>\n 1. Experiment with healthy but enjoyable food combinations<\/strong> So whole foods like protein, vegetables, fruits and healthy fats help you eat the right amount by allowing your brain to process leptin, in addition to nourishing you more<\/strong>. But you also want to enjoy the food you eat so you don\u2019t feel deprived. The best way to start eating more healthy food is to start enjoying more healthy food.<\/p>\n Try looking up healthy alternatives for ingredients in your favorite recipes (like sweet potato noodles in place of spaghetti or pastured ghee in place of butter). If you start with something you know you enjoy and tweak the ingredients, you’ll be more likely to enjoy the end result and you’ll start to get the hang of cooking with these new ingredients. That will help give you a strong foundation to branch out and explore new recipes.<\/p>\n If the healthy food you\u2019re eating tastes as good as your unhealthy food, there\u2019s nothing for you to miss. Sure, you have to still make a decision. But the healthy and unhealthy options are more equally weighted in your mind, which means you don\u2019t feel like you\u2019re sacrificing anything when you choose the healthy option.<\/p>\n 2. Stop calorie counting<\/strong> While counting calories keeps you in a calorie deficit – assuming you\u2019re perfect – it doesn\u2019t ensure you\u2019re getting all the nutrients you need for your body to operate at its peak. With the added stress around social events with food, eating out and other typically enjoyable experiences, there are better ways to keep your eating in check.<\/p>\n What\u2019s more important is what<\/em>\u00a0you eat. As I mentioned,\u00a0you end up eating the right amount with foods that don\u2019t block leptin receptors in your brain<\/strong>. And just in case you do overdo it at a meal,\u00a0your body\u2019s smart enough to recalibrate<\/strong>\u00a0your next few meals until you\u2019re back on track.<\/p>\n Listening to your body also has the advantage of feeling more connected to what you\u2019re eating<\/strong>. It makes meals enjoyable, rather than something necessary for survival. You\u2019re less afraid of food. Plus, you\u2019re more in tune with what your body needs to feel its best. In fact, a few weekly treats can help you eat better overall. Strict rules over what you can\u2019t eat can cause you to obsess over those items. Not only does this eat away at your willpower more rapidly because you\u2019re constantly thinking about it, but you\u2019re also more likely to overeat or binge when you finally give in. Knowing you can eat something if you really want it prevents you from obsessing and helps you eat just enough to feel satisfied<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The key here is to choose the foods you\u2019re really going to love<\/strong>. If you think ice cream is only okay, don\u2019t eat ice cream just because work is having an ice cream social. But if you find your favorite cookies at a holiday party and you want to celebrate because it\u2019s the holidays, give yourself permission to have a few guilt-free. You\u2019ll enjoy the party without regrets and get back to eating well the next day.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n When you start to enjoy food that\u2019s good for you, that\u2019s when you\u2019ll see the biggest shift in how you look and feel.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Want to know the reason why diets never work long-term? They\u2019re all about what you can\u2019t\u00a0have. No sugar. No carbs. No fat. No alcohol.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":116852274,"featured_media":96,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[123073],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-94","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-eat"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/feedyouraurablog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/selfcontrol.jpg?fit=866%2C578&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8nXmu-1w","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/feedyouraurablog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/feedyouraurablog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/feedyouraurablog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feedyouraurablog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/116852274"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feedyouraurablog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=94"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/feedyouraurablog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":166,"href":"https:\/\/feedyouraurablog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94\/revisions\/166"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feedyouraurablog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/96"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/feedyouraurablog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=94"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feedyouraurablog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=94"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/feedyouraurablog.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=94"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Willpower works against us<\/h2>\n
Look and feel your best without the diet<\/h2>\n
\nProcessed, refined and sugar-laced foods block leptin receptors in your brain. Leptin is the hormone that gets released when you\u2019ve had enough to eat, telling your brain you\u2019re full. That\u2019s why it\u2019s so hard to stop eating certain foods, even when you know you\u2019ve had enough.<\/p>\n
\nNothing causes a sense of deprivation like calorie counting. You\u2019re limiting both what you can eat (by avoiding higher calorie foods and ingredients) and whether you can have an extra treat or a larger portion size, even if you\u2019re hungry.<\/p>\n
\n3. Treat yourself every once in awhile<\/strong>
\nWhen you\u2019re eating well, it\u2019s okay to indulge every once in awhile.\u00a0The 80\/20 rule is a good rule of thumb<\/strong>. If you\u2019re mostly eating those whole, nutritious foods and you decide you want a treat then go for it. Even eating whatever you want for 1-2 meals a week will be fine in the long run.<\/p>\n