In the world of exercise and fitness, as soon as you start speaking about nutrition one word comes to mind. Of course, we’re talking about the dreaded diet. How many times have you heard someone tell you that they have to avoid certain foodstuffs because they’re on a diet? All too often this word is linked with a decrease in pleasurable eating, a lack of having the food you like and has even been used in terms like diet fatigue in recent years. Indicating that a lack of proper sustenance and nutrition is causing a poor mental state or even anxiety.
If we start to change our eating habits with all these negative ideas about how we’re supposed to eat and what constitutes good nutrition, then we often force ourselves through with willpower, going against our usual behaviours. Because of this the entire experience is often a punitive, almost punishing one that we don’t enjoy – and as a result we fail to set up new eating routines that are based on both good nutrition and simple, enjoyable meals.
Some of the negative ideas around dieting that must be avoided include:
- Setting diets around hard restrictions – without teaching any kind of moderation of proper eating behaviours.
- Short term diets, such as keto, that lead to frustration and energy loss as they are only sustainable for a few weeks and inevitably end in a bounce back.
- The belief that diets need to be monotonous and boring, leaving us in a situation where we crave more exciting and diverse foodstuffs, meaning we often break diets with binging behaviours.
- Focusing on the scales. All too often when positive steps are made towards a weight loss goal, this leads to eating more and breaking good habits. Also keeping the scales happy can become your focus, rather than eating healthily and happily.
- Miracle foods that you can eat all the time to help reduce fat. So called superfoods are always good as part of a balanced diet, but eating them all the time will lead to boredom and seeking out unhealthy foods to create variety in your meals.
- Not taking fitness levels into account. Going through hard workouts every week requires a lot of energy and sustenance. Get enough fats, proteins and carbs to see you through your exercise sessions.
- Ignoring your psychological factors. We don’t always eat because we need the energy. Often overeating is linked to other emotional struggles. If you want to lose weight and keep it off – getting therapy or behavioural support can be the decisive factor.
Really diets fail because they’re not about lasting change. Good nutrition and eating should be a foundation of a healthy lifestyle, giving you the essential food groups, such as proteins, carbs and fats that you need to maintain activity and energy. You need to have a sustainable way of eating or you will almost always be condemning yourself to the ups and downs of dieting. Find a way to eat food that you like, is easy to make and gives you the energy you need – and you’ll find it easier to keep your physique in shape.
And of course, if you want a considered system of exercise, alongside the nutritional expertise to put together a complete plan of eating and workouts – then EMS Fitness is a great place for you to get started. Speak to one of our team, who can arrange to speak to you and advise how we could help you meet your weight loss and fitness goals.