Video | Paralysis by Analysis | Diet Minutia | The Mundane Middle | Maintenance 

When you set out to change your diet, obstacles pop up from start to finish. I have seen a lot of diet mistakes over the years and made many of them myself. Whether you are having trouble getting your diet off the ground, finding it hard to stick with it, or worried about gaining weight back once you’ve reached your goal, this blog post will help you see that you’re not alone, and that may be just the motivation you need to stay on track. 

The Easiest Diet Mistakes to Make [Weight Loss] [Video]

In this video, you’ll learn…

• Four mistakes people make when dieting.
• How to avoid these mistakes.
• A proven formula for maintaining your weight once your goals are reached.

Mistake #1: Paralysis by Analysis

We live in a time when information is easy to access. Whatever goal you want to achieve or project you want to tackle, there’s a video or article on that topic. In fact, there are likely hundreds, maybe thousands. If you’re interested in dieting for weight loss, you are reading one of those articles right now. Access to all of this information is both a blessing and a curse. It allows us to learn but can lead to an easy-to-make problem, which is paralysis by analysis. 

Solution #1: Learn By Doing

Whenever you start something new, there is a learning curve. There is no substitution for learning. But at some point, you need to shift from gathering information to taking action. Think about learning how to drive a car. First, you gathered information by taking a driver’s education course and watching your parents drive. Those were necessary steps, but at some point, you needed to sit down behind the wheel and drive. You made mistakes but are likely pretty comfortable with driving now because you learned by doing. Changing your diet is no different. Take time to gather information, but set a start date to encourage action. 

Mistake #2: Diet Minutia

Another easy mistake is getting caught up in the little things. What I’ll refer to as the diet minutia. There is a saying that the more you learn, the less you know. So, it’s human instinct to go down every little rabbit hole when it comes to changing your diet, and that can cause us to take our focus off of the things that create the most results. 

This is an easy mistake because it is often rooted in fear. If you look hard enough, you can find a reason why eating a piece of celery is horrible for your health. But when we focus on minute details and isolate nutrients, we miss out on the miracle of how our bodies work, and it becomes scary to eat. 

Solution #2: Put Whole Foods First 

When it comes to getting weight loss results, aim the majority of your focus on your food choices and be patient as your body adapts to the new way you are feeding it. 

If you don’t know where to start, think more whole foods and fewer processed foods. For example, if the food still looks similar to how it looked in nature, it is a whole food. If it comes in a box or is handed to you through a fast-food window, it likely falls on the processed food side of the equation. 

You create the most change by focusing on the big picture: your food choices. When that feels comfortable, you can fine-tune your diet and add supplemental things to enhance your results and reach your goal. 

Mistake #3: Succumbing to the Mundane Middle

The next place that is easy to go wrong is failing to see weight loss as a goal. 

Goals are journeys with exciting starts, exhilarating finishes, and mundane, just-get-through-it middles. It is those middle days that require understanding. 

The onset of a goal brings with it feelings of excitement and motivation. Those positive feelings are because of a rush of hormones, specifically dopamine and serotonin, that produces a feel-good sensation throughout your body. In other words, starting a goal feels great because you are basking in that initial “Let’s do this” motivating mindset. Unfortunately, this hormone high doesn’t last. When it decreases, so does your motivation. 

That motivation dip doesn’t mean something has gone wrong with your plan. It’s simply the way your physiology works. However, if you aren’t aware of this phenomenon, you can give up on your goal or jump ship looking for the next plan because starting anew gives you a fresh hit of the feel-good hormones.

Solution: Consistent Effort

The solution for navigating through the mundane middle days of a goal is consistent effort.  

The beauty is that doing the right thing for your body, even when you feel unmotivated, allows your brain to change and establish new patterns. With time, your new behaviors become self-sustaining, bringing your goal within reach. The thing to remember is it is normal to experience uncomfortable feelings and even boredom when working toward a goal. Your job is to stay in the game. 

Mistake #4: Maintenance = Stopping

We’ve gone through three mistakes that happen as you lose weight. But another thing that can pop up after the goal is met is thinking that maintaining weight loss equals stopping your diet. 

I realize that reaching a weight loss goal takes effort, and you really want to be free of the obligation. But maintaining weight loss is not a burden if you take time during those mundane middle days to create a way of eating that is easy to follow, enjoyable, and effective. 

Solution: Create the 3 E’s

Those are my 3E’s, and they are the foundation for healthy living. And they are not just some interesting concept; they are a proven formula for maintaining good health. 

Researchers found that when a person’s plan was simplified so that it didn’t take over their life; when what they were doing had an element of enjoyment to it, so they didn’t feel miserable every day; and when their plan provided clear evidence that their efforts were working, that they stuck with their plan, reached their goal, and maintained a healthy lifestyle. In other words, they had created a way of eating and moving that was easy to follow, enjoyable, and effective, so they had no need or desire to return to their old habits.

Takeaway

Changing your diet is a goal worth pursuing, but it is a goal, and with that comes obstacles. You can overcome them. Set a start date so you learn by doing, focus on whole foods, be consistent, and create your own 3 E’s. 

Thank you for reading and have a wonderful week!

About the Author

Becky Gillaspy, DC, is the author of The Intermittent Fasting Guide and Cookbook. She graduated Summa Cum Laude with research honors from Palmer College of Chiropractic in 1991.