How to Stick to Your Diet Amidst a Sea of Temptation

How can you lose weight with a host of temptations around you? Your Friday pizza nights? A fast food restaurant located conveniently around the corner from you? Losing weight can be a difficult experience. You are forced to change your eating habits among a sea of tasty, good-feeling but belly-busting choices around you. Here’s the secret: the healthy eating choices you need to make lie on the other side of uncomfortable decisions. You will not jump for joy after initially selecting a salad over a juicy hamburger with sumptuous french fries but as you habitually make healthy choices you will feel better about doing the right thing. How can you stick to your diet with temptation all around you? Eat One Cheat Meal per WeekrnYou can still have Friday pizza night with your friends and keep a slim figure. The trade-off? This is your one cheat meal for the weak. By indulging a bit you lose the overpowering urge to binge on junk food after days or weeks of religious, Spartan dieting. Cheat only once per week and never go overboard. Eating 7 slices of pizza can cancel out a week of disciplined dieting. Eat slowly and mindfully. By eating slowing you can notice the point when you’re full, and you can stop eating instead of shoveling in 2 or 3 more pieces of pizza after you’re stuffed. Consider adopting a diet partner during these cheat meals. Somebody who may or may not be dieting can tell you when you’re overdoing it. Most of us are wildly emotional eaters, with food serving as a drug to reduce stress, quell or fears or simply help us to feel happy. Designating a diet partner during these cheat meals can help you realize whether you’re eating because you are hungry or you are trying to fill a void within, and I’m not talking about your stomach. Drink Plenty of WaterrnDrink a significant amount of water daily to curb hunger cravings and reduce your caloric intake. Taking in water helps you feel full and also helps you eliminate toxins from your system.Aim for eight to ten 8 ounce glasses of water daily. Drink 1 glass of water upon waking, slowly sipping every 10 or 20 minutes to form the habit of hydrating. Never wait until you’re thirsty to drink. This means you are already dehydrated.Drink water with means for a satiating, low calories alternative to sugary juice drinks or empty-calorie soda. Eat Smaller, Frequent MealsrnEating smaller, frequent meals helps you feel full and also boosts your metabolism. Space meals out every three to four hours to satiate your hunger.Starving yourself is counterproductive. Unless you have the discipline of a Buddhist Monk – and you probably don’t if you need to lose weight – fasting all day and eating one meal at night is a disaster. You will likely pig out on the nearest sugary, fatty food, desperate to raise your blood sugar after a silly fast. Eat immediately upon waking. Satiate your hunger after your six to eight hour fast during sleep. Never skip breakfast as this usually leads to a binge lunch or dinner. Simply drink a glass of water and chow down on one piece of whole wheat toast to form healthy eating habits and reduce the urge to pig out during lunch.Remember, if you wait until lunch time to eat, you will have fasted for roughly 18 hours. Do you honestly feel disciplined enough not to scarf down junk food or feast like royalty at this point? You have more power than you know when it comes to taking charge of your health and anything is possible--even changing your bad eating habits, no matter how long they have been around.