Diet failure is a phenomenon that haunts many people who are losing weight. Those who have struggled with excess weight have experienced this at least once, but there are also those who break down constantly. The cause can be any negative external factor, since at this time the body is most vulnerable. It turns out that breakdowns are not always a bad thing. Moreover, experts in the field of nutrition and dietetics even argue that this is quite normal, since due to a change in eating habits the body experiences stress, which it fights gradually. But still, upset violators of the nutrition program are always acutely concerned with the question: what to do if they break the diet?
Causes of diet failures
Diet violations do not occur just like that; for this, there must be a factor that led to the breakdown. Let's look at the main reasons.
- Insufficient motivation for results. Typically, people who are planning to lose weight treat it as a short-term period in their life. (ATTENTION! This is a major mistake that often does not lead to the desired result!) Diet is a radical lifestyle change. This is worth understanding to achieve results. Answer a few questions for yourself: why am I doing this? What do I want to achieve in the end?
- Lack of purpose or incorrect formulation. The right motivation will allow you to clearly formulate the goal and ways to achieve it. The next stage, another lost kilogram should bring pleasure and joy. Don’t set unattainable goals, try to soberly assess yourself and your capabilities.
- Inappropriate diet. It would be more correct, of course, to consult a doctor before losing weight, take the appropriate tests and undergo an examination. Only in this case will they be able to prescribe a power system that is suitable specifically for you. But often people don't do this. Therefore, the diet may be too strict, which will lead to a breakdown.
How not to cross the line
Often a breakdown is preceded by obsessive thoughts about food and lack of interest in usual hobbies. There may be a reluctance to communicate with family and friends. The decisive impetus is almost always a strong feeling of hunger. What to do if you want to break all the rules while standing in front of an open refrigerator?
Drink warm water
If you lose control of your hunger, you can slowly drink a glass of warm water. It will fill the stomach and create an imaginary feeling of fullness.
Take a walk
Being dangerously close to the refrigerator at home, it’s hard not to freak out. Is your hand already reaching for the treasured shelf with sausages? Go outside immediately. Preferably without money. This will protect you from buying street fast food. A walk will distract you from insidious thoughts, saturate your body with oxygen and burn off hundreds of extra calories.
Allow a snack
During the diet there should not be a strong feeling of hunger. If you want to sweep away everything tasty in your path, snack on something healthy. Sour fruit or bread with low-fat cheese will help curb your appetite and calm down.
Go to bed
Perhaps the most reliable way to avoid a breakdown. The main thing here is to fall asleep as quickly as possible. Read a quiet book and turn off the lights. Before going to bed, it is useful to brush your teeth or rinse your mouth. The mint taste of toothpaste will muffle the feeling of hunger.
Arrange an unscheduled training session
Intense exercise at home or in the gym will make you completely forget about food. Completed training will add confidence in yourself and your own abilities.
Remind yourself of the goal
On the verge of a breakdown, take another look at the new dress, a beautiful swimsuit 2 sizes smaller. Review photos of yourself at your ideal weight and compare them to the image in the mirror. Is there something to strive for? This means you need to pull yourself together and continue working on yourself!
What are the types of diet failures?
Diet breakdowns don't just happen. Usually this ends in an isolated case, but it happens that eating junk food lasts more than one day and is repeated with some frequency. You can limit yourself to a one-time breakdown if you immediately pull yourself together. It is necessary to combat regular diet violations, for which you should analyze your chosen dietary pattern. Let us explain isolated cases.
We ate sweets
It’s such a thing in the world that almost all people are huge lovers of sweets. Therefore, it is difficult to get rid of this food pleasure. Often it is sweets that become the reason for breaking the diet, since the craving for it is very strong, and not everyone can fight it.
First of all, don't despair. A bad mood will lead to stress, and you will want even more goodies. Therefore, a positive attitude and determination should be the first helpers.
We ate fried food
Sometimes, instead of sweets, people losing weight indulge in fried foods. This usually happens during the outdoor barbecue season, when it is simply impossible to refuse it. This type of breakdown is quite dangerous, since fried foods are high in calories.
Fed up for the night
This case usually occurs when the calorie intake is low during the day. The body requires energy, so people often eat at night. The consequences of this can be different: sleep disturbance, heaviness in the stomach, nausea, etc. At night, all processes in the human body slow down, so the food eaten simply begins to rot.
Regular breakdowns are often caused by an incorrectly selected diet. Too strict restrictions, a meager, monotonous list of products and low calorie content ultimately lead to prolonged overeating. This condition can lead to low self-esteem and even more weight gain.
Critical moment
The main rule after a breakdown is not to panic! Next, you should calm down, drink water and assess the “scale of the tragedy.”
If eating a chocolate bar is mistaken for a breakdown, then don’t be too upset!
Measure the calorie content of the prohibited product and try to reduce your daily diet by the stated number of units. Don't destroy yourself over a small piece of sausage or a fried chicken leg. Just adjust your daily combination of BZHU.
Important! Small disruptions will not cause harm if they occur rarely. Regular diet violations will negate all attempts to lose weight.
Sometimes during a breakdown the contents of the refrigerator are completely destroyed. Fatty main courses prohibited by the diet, sweets, buns, and smoked meats are used. In this case, it will be a little more difficult to prevent the consequences. How to proceed:
- Get ready to see a couple extra pounds on the scale the next day. These are water, salts and unprocessed food debris. Over time, this weight will definitely go away.
- Make adjustments to your diet for the next three days. Eat soups with light broth and vegetable salads. Eliminate carbohydrates and fat as much as possible, but increase the amount of protein.
- Drink more fluids. Green tea without sugar and water are perfect.
- Continue your diet! Don't give up on your dreams because of a momentary failure.
- Analyze the cause of the failure and eliminate it. It is important to understand what prompted you to eat while on a diet. If it was hunger, then it is worth adjusting the diet and introducing healthy snacks. Lack of sports or hobbies? This means that this is an excellent opportunity to learn something new or attend interesting master classes.
- Increase your physical activity over the next 2 days. Walking from work to home, climbing the 9th floor without an elevator and doing a couple of dozen squats will burn extra calories and strengthen your muscles.
What to do if you fall off your diet?
The first rule when you fail on a diet is don’t blame yourself and don’t get upset. To err is human, so take it positively and start rebuilding your diet. Under no circumstances should you quit your diet! Pretend that nothing happened and continue in the same spirit. It is advisable not to step on the scale, as an extra kilogram will only cause anger, resentment and powerlessness.
Below are the basic rules that will help you get back on track:
- Include more protein and fiber in your diet. Their digestion takes a long time, so consuming them will help reduce hunger.
- Cleanse your body. Start the next day after a breakdown with a glass of warm water with lemon, lime and mint. Go to the bathhouse, massage your whole body with a dry brush. This will help remove harmful substances
- Take probiotics. After eating sweets, there is a high chance that you will want them even more. Therefore, it is necessary to stabilize blood sugar levels, which probiotics can do very well.
- Rest. After breaking your diet, you shouldn’t run to the gym and work off calories. Experts advise relaxing, taking a walk in the fresh air
- Avoid fried foods as they cause heaviness in the stomach and slow down digestion. The following mixture is perfect for recovery: a decoction of fruits with mint leaves and grated ginger. This will speed up metabolic processes, and digestion will begin to work more actively.
- Chew some gum. It will become a catalyst for the release of enzymes into the stomach, which also activates the digestive processes.
- Get physically active. When unpleasant symptoms subside, take yourself for a walk or jog in the fresh air.
- Don't eat at night. Try to plan your diet evenly throughout the day, then you won’t feel hungry before bed.
Remember! Eating before bed leads to the formation of gases and rotting food in the stomach. This causes the accumulation of toxins and other harmful substances in the body.
How to stop
To stop dieting, you need to follow an important rule - protect yourself from temptations. Avoid as much as possible all situations where you can break loose and eat too much.
If your colleagues drink coffee and cake every Monday, eat it alone. Carry healthy food with you, and put some bread or cereal bars in your bag in case of an unplanned snack.
Try not to visit restaurants that do not have a diet menu. Before meeting your friends in a cafe, allow yourself a healthy snack and a glass of water.
Lose weight with company
Start jogging in the morning with your girlfriends, meet losing weight “colleagues” in the pool, in the gym, or even on the Internet. Joint efforts multiply the overall result! Together it is easy to control each other, motivate and protect from breakdowns.
"Free" yourself
Once a week, plan a small deviation from the recommended menu. Enjoy chocolate cake, your favorite beef spaghetti or summer barbecue with pleasure and openness. The main thing in this rule is to observe moderation!
Add physical activity
Walk and walk more. At the beach or summer picnic, offer to play outdoor games. Fun volleyball or team football will lift your spirits and burn extra calories.
Basic mistakes that lead to failure
How to avoid the main mistakes made by those who decide to start eating only diet foods?
- Exclusion of usual foods from the diet. Get rid of harmful foods gradually. For example, start putting not two spoons of sugar in your tea, but one. If the craving for your favorite foods is irresistible, then you can include them in your diet. You can eat sweets in the morning, but be careful!
- Excessive tension. For many, the word “diet” is something terrible and unpleasant. Therefore, consume it less, let this period become the beginning of a healthy lifestyle.
- Diet monotony. When losing weight, it is not necessary to eat only buckwheat, apples and kefir. Find healthy, wholesome foods that you love.
- Lack of knowledge. Expand your knowledge in the field of proper nutrition, improve yourself.
- Quick change of diet. It is necessary to change eating habits gradually.
Thus, failures on a diet are a very common and understandable thing. Sometimes they occur once, which does not have any negative consequences. But it happens that a person brings his body to exhaustion and a stressful state, then an urgent need to adjust his diet. Before you start losing weight, consult a specialist so that your diet is selected individually, this will help avoid unwanted breakdowns.
