You are looking to start and stick to a diet but you don’t know where to start, or you’re scared you’ll fail… I hear you, it can be very overwhelming and with new diets, a lot of guilt can come creeping up especially if we slip from time to time. Let’s dive a little deeper into that before I share my top 5 tips to help you stick to a new diet.
Any guilt you have when it comes to food and nutrition likely comes from a place that isn’t yours. Food guilt is a real concern for many as there are a lot of outside pressures coming from every direction that urges us to be perfect and to do things exactly right. It’s no wonder it’s so easy to get lost in the noise and become incredibly confused about what to do! Thankfully, this is something I work through with all my clients when working with them! It’s what we’re going to dive into as well – what’s involved in starting a new diet, how you can stick to it and how to avoid food guilt!
There are so many headlines out there that are incredibly misleading, I’m sure you’ve read or heard them before:
“Don’t eat red meat, it’s bad for you and will cause cardiovascular disease”
“Eat {insert new, fancy food} and lose 5 pounds in 5 days, guaranteed!”
“Here’s why carbs are making you fat!”
Well, here’s the reality of things, not every newly discovered, trendy food or diet is going to work for you. This is why it can be so hard to stick to a new diet. We are all built differently and we all have different needs and yet we’re told that this diet or this food will solve all our problems. I’m here to tell you that that is not the case. We are all at different stages in our lives and require a different level of nutrition or healing. Our individual needs cannot be met by any one specific diet or food. No one should ever tell you otherwise and you should not feel guilt or shame about the food choices that you make.
Searching for answers online can be great and it has the potential to be overwhelming, causing us way more stress than necessary. I see this especially in folks who try to do too much, too quickly, and too aggressively.
So here are some of my favorite tips to help you start a new diet and how you can support yourself long-term by sticking to it.
1. Understand Which Diet is the Healthiest for Your Needs
Before selecting a new diet, you first need to identify your health goals:
Are you trying to get pregnant?
Are you trying to lose weight?
Are you trying to gain muscle mass?
Are you trying to heal yourself from an ailment?
Are you trying to stay healthy and support your immune function?
Once you’ve established what your health goals are, then you can narrow down the type of “diet” you should follow to best support you and your body.
Note: I highlighted the word “diet” above because I wanted to mention that the word diet has been abused so much in that it is now a term used to describe a way of eating to help one loose weight. The reality is that every person on this planet has a specific “diet” that is individual to them, no matter what they eat! When I refer to any diet, I speak purely in the sense of “foods that you choose to eat”.
2. Is This Diet Good for me Long-Term?
So you want to start and stick to a new diet that you’ve just discovered as being a miracle, cure-all? To that, I have to say:
“Unless you’re trying to help manage an acute health issue that needs immediate addressing, any diet you choose to follow should be designed in such a way that will support your health long-term.”
The diet you choose to follow should ideally ensure that you are eating enough food in the day and that you are hitting your nutrient needs. Notice how I did not say caloric needs. Calories are important in that they supply us with energy, but the word calory does not take into consideration things like fat, protein, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and so fourth. Carbs are important too, my friends!
The foods we choose to eat should supply us with everything our body needs to thrive, so making sure hit those needs will be of upmost importance.
If we put ourselves in too much of a deficit, for too long, it can cause our body to fall out of balance, it can cause hormone disruptions, energy crashes, and so much more…
Choose a new diet wisely and as a general rule of thumb, I’d recommend steering clear of any diet you see that has you in a severe caloric deficit or diets that make you feel guilty about eating!
3. Make Small, Incremental Changes
As exciting as it may be to jump right into a new routine, if you want to stick to a new diet that you think will benefit you long-term, I think the best thing you can do for yourself is to ease into it. Start small and start slow – especially if the changes are drastically different from your previous way of eating.
Jumping head-first into a new diet works great for some, but for many it may not be ideal:
- It can be too hard for some because you don’t know where to start or it’s’ just too much at once
- You may not have the time to adjust to the new lifestyle required for the dietary changes
- You may not want to throw out all the food you have to start over fresh
- You may not see the results you’re hoping for as quickly as you’d like and that can act as a deterrent, making you quit your new diet before you see any change
- It may cause food guilt: a feeling where one feels guilty eating any foods that aren’t allowed, causing a person to restrict their diet and potentially causing extra stress and strain on the body
This system of doing things can be problematic to some because it may result in falling back into old habits, resulting in guilt and feelings of failure. This has the potential to spiral a person back into their previous ways or eating, ending what could have been a new healthy habit. I will speak more of this below.
I recommend making small, incremental changes when it’s time to start and stick to a diet that is new to you because it’s the most sustainable. There are many ways to tackle this once you understand the full scope of what your new diet will look like.
My favorite tips for slowly introducing a new diet include:
- Pick 1 or 2 components of your new diet that are easily implemented and start with those for the next week or 2. Don’t add anything new until you’ve mastered those and continue with that pattern moving forward
- Assess how you’re feeling throughout your journey to see if it’s working for you – if you need to make any tweaks or changes, do so.
- If/when replacing items in your pantry with an ingredient list, start by replacing 1 at a time so you’re not overwhelmed with items you would like to switch out
- Have a friend or family help keep you accountable or seek help from a professional.
- Feel confident in your decision to change your diet, know what your long-term goals are and stay true to you.
- If you’re local to me, having a live blood assessment can help establish the state of our digestion and overall wellness!
All this to say, ease into any transition you’re working through and don’t put too much pressure on yourself.
4. Understand That not Every Meal and Every Day Will be Perfect
It isn’t always going to be perfect and pretty and everything you image it will be! Some days may be really hard. Some days, the last thing you’re going to want to think about is what you need to do to stick to your new diet… Some days, you’ll eat some foods that don’t fit into your “perfect meal plan” or what you deem as ok, and that’s ok and don’t feel guilty about it! Maybe you’ll fall out of your habit for a few days, a week or two, maybe longer!
Not every day will go exactly as planned, just remember that life happens. The best advice I have for you here is to let go of the guilt that you may have, accept the fact that you didn’t do exactly as you had set out to do and that’s ok. Give yourself some grace.
Pick up where you left off and don’t look back – look forward!
No one is perfect, not even me 😉
After everything I’ve just said, I think one the most important tips I can share with you is to…
5. Always Listen to What Your Body is Asking For
This is one of the most important things I think you can do for yourself when it comes time to deciding what diet is best for you. When working with my clients, this is a topic we spend a lot of time discussing.
While at first it may seem weird, I can guarantee that with a little time and practice, it will become second nature.
When I suggest that you listen to what your body is asking for, this is what I mean – take the time to slow down and tune into yourself, tune into your body. It means slowing down, taking a deep breath and connecting back to self. It means asking yourself questions to try to identify what it needs!
If you’re feeling tired and bogged down, listen to your body. It may be worth taking a moment to rest and eat something that is lighter, something that doesn’t sit heavy in your stomach for too long. Maybe that also means after your meal, you’ll go for a short walk to help get things moving a little better.
If you’re feeling amped up, ready to take on the day and you know that you thrive on eating a meal that is higher in protein and carbs… listen to your body. Maybe that means giving yourself those protein and carbs so you can keep that high energy going.
Maybe you are feeling like your muscles are a little sore. Tune in and listen to your body. Try to identify the cause of those discomforts. Did you do a strenuous workout that day or a few days prior? Did you pull a muscle? Are you fighting a cold or flu? Did it come out of the blue? If muscles need extra support, look to see if more protein or rest is needed that day or maybe there is a need to increase fruit consumption for antioxidants to help fight off a cold.
Maybe today you feel like eating that cake, but you want to stick to your diet and you’re afraid that eating that one piece of cake will throw everything off? To that I say, listen to your body. If it is something you do on occasion, you know that you will enjoy every bite of that cake and it will make you happy, then go for it! That one piece of cake will not break you. Remember that no one and no diet needs to be perfect 100% of the time, just hop right back into it afterwards.
Finally, these are ways you can help yourself stick to a new diet by tuning into yourself:
- Tune into every meal that you are eating and try to identify how the food you are eating makes you feel, both physically and emotionally. If a food makes you feel good, keep eating it! If it bogs you down and makes you feel ill, maybe it’s not the right food for you.
- If you look at the plate in front of you and you feel like you need more protein, more fat or more carbs than you typically would want, then adjust what your plate looks like!
- If one day you look at your plate and feel like you have too much protein, fat or carbs, then simply set those particular foods aside and save it for another time.
Bonus tip below!
6. Find Delicious Recipes That Make Your Palate Dance
Seems simple enough, right?
Find recipes that excite you, that make your taste buds explode.
Experiment with new flavors, herbs and foods.
Take the time to enjoy the foods you’re eating
Have fun in the kitchen, it’s a game changer.
So there you have it, some of my favorite ways to support yourself when you are ready to start and stick to a new diet.
If you need some extra nutrition support or if you’re ready to chat, feel free to book a free discovery call or send me an email at any time. You can also subscribe to my newsletter to see upcoming blog posts on all things fertility, pregnancy, nutrition and sometimes I dabble in live blood analysis chats!
Happy healing and happy eating <3
Véronique,
your fertility nutritionist.
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