How to End Diet Guilt
By Genevieve Cunningham
Diets. For so many of us, this feels like such a dirty word. It's a word that brings up feelings of restriction, deprivation, and guilt. No thanks, right? But eating a healthy diet really is important to our overall health. It's a way to get the proper nutrients that we need. It's a way to maintain a healthy weight. And it's a way to feel good in our own skin. But how do we manage a healthy diet without the guilt that comes from bending the rules once in a while? It's easier than you think. If you're ready to embrace healthy eating and kick the guilt to the curb, take a look at these tips to help.
Aim for Progress
It's not about being perfect. Too many people feel like healthy eating has to be exactly right every second of the day. It doesn't! Aim for making progress. Aim for skipping dessert. Aim for only one helping. And once you've seen improvements, make new goals. But don't expect yourself to be perfect every hour of every day. We're all learning, and we're all only human. Changing your mindset to aiming for progress instead of that ever-elusive perfection can be a real game changer in your ability to find success.
Allow for the Good Stuff
In the spirit of not being perfect, go ahead and factor some of the good stuff into your diet. Love dessert? Then skip it five days out of the week and enjoy it the other two nights. Like to unwind with a glass of wine? Opt for a red variety to keep it as healthy as possible. But don't restrict so much that you make the binge inevitable. Allow yourself some room to be human. To have fun. To let loose and enjoy yourself. This makes eating healthy the rest of the time a lot easier.
Appreciate Your Efforts
Always remember that you're doing your best. And if you're not, step up your game, and then appreciate what you're doing. Appreciate your efforts and the small successes. Appreciate that you have the willpower to eat dessert today and skip it tomorrow. Appreciating yourself really goes a long way in being able to sustain a healthy eating plan. And if you're really looking for results that last, sustainability is key.
Eating a healthy diet should not make you feel panic. It should make you proud of yourself and should certainly improve your overall physical health. Use these tips to end the guilt associated with normal dieting. A healthy diet and healthy life can be yours. Own it, appreciate yourself, and the results will come in due time.
To learn more about your health, wellness, and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Porter Ranch, Calif.