The lies we tell ourselves

As we’re always saying, the battle is won or lost in the mind. We can talk ourselves into or out of anything. Often we change our thoughts to justify what we want to do, even when we know deep down that we are making the wrong decision or lying to ourselves – the mind is very powerful and will generate thoughts to protect us! The mind doesn’t like a state of tension so it creates thoughts that make us feel better about actions we feel are wrong for us. The first step here is to acknowledge that this is what we’re doing. Whatever you decide to do, start with telling yourself the truth and try and avoid some of these cognitive traps…

“I’ll start tomorrow”

Of all the dysfunctional things we tell ourselves about dieting this has to be the most common. It allows us to eat pizza today. You’re already in your tomorrows. Yesterday you said tomorrow! This one often happens when we are bored with a diet and abandon it, or we’ve fallen off the wagon or given into temptation. It also lets you off the hook because you reasoning to yourself that you’ve set a date to begin again – but if we’re already in a pattern of ‘start tomorrow’ then you’re likely to repeat this cycle again and again. Often this is linked to fluctuations in motivation so instead of talking yourself into postponement or grand new beginnings, talk yourself through why you’re doing this.

“I’ve got a meal out and a busy week at work coming up, I’ll start after that”

This sounds like a rational plan, and sometimes it can be, but there will always be a reason not to start – a busy time, a few dates in the diary and healthy eating plans get thrown into the future. The point is there is really NO TIME LIKE THE PRESENT, so once you’ve done the necessary planning and adjustments to your kitchen get on with it. Dieting is not about being perfect all the time, it’s about balance and the overall picture. So many people spend their lives in a cycle of heavy eating and then restrictive eating. It’s what the overall picture is looking like that will determine what you look like and that can include a few dates in the diary that include meals out while sticking with your chosen plan the rest of the time.

“I’ve blown it now, I might as well start again on Monday”

Similar to ‘I’ll start tomorrow’ the difference with this one is it occurs when something has gone wrong – a family meal with heavy carbs, a low mood and over-indulgence, then we abandon our positive intentions, often feel low, and ‘dangerously’ we often go on a mission to eat as many of our favourite foods as we can before we re-commence the diet. This means when we do start again we have accustomed ourselves to bigger portions and maybe the wrong types of food again which will make starting the diet harder. It also means that whereas we may have added another 1000 calories to the week you end up having another 10,000 so you’re adding to the task ahead as well as the scales. If you’ve succumbed to temptation and eaten the packet of biscuits then just get yourself back on track, don’t punish yourself or starve yourself and the ‘damage’ will be minimal.

“I’m bored with this diet, maybe X diet will work better…”

We’ll do a whole other blog on diet-hopping, but this one usually occurs when we’re bored with the particular diet we’ve chosen and suddenly another option seems more appealing. Then we get bored or hungry with that one and hop again. We find that when people do this they usually stay at around the weight as they are never giving a diet a chance to work. Find the diet that is right for you and your lifestyle and stick with it – expect a little boredom and temptation at times but remind yourself what you’re going to gain.

“If I restrict everything I’ll get there faster”

This one usually occurs after a blow-out on food or in a moment when you’re feeling particularly down about your weight or really desperate to feel slimmer, but I’m sure it’s not news that in most cases this plan is destined to fail. Very restrictive diets lead to all sorts of physical problems like nutritional deficits and fluctuations in blood sugar, not to mention the emotional difficulty of trying to exert willpower over hunger and feeling resentful and deprived. Diets usually work best when they are balanced. We have seen people who have abandoned a healthy eating plan to do the egg diet and within 48 hours they are back to ordering pizza and feeling a sense of failure again. The trick with this one is to look into the future – severe restrictions may seem like a good idea now but picture yourself in 72 hours when you’re feeling unwell and craving some normality in your eating pattern. If you’ve gone off track just pick up where you left off beforehand.

Did you recognise yourself in any of these scenarios or thought patterns? If so feel free to share this with others and email us with any others you experience so we can address these as well.