subject: How Extreme Dieting Sets You Up For Failure [print this page] How Extreme Dieting Sets You Up For Failure
Have you ever had a friend who is overweight and one day decides to lose fifty pounds no matter what? Perhaps somebody said something that really offended them, perhaps they finally don't even fit into their largest pair of jeans, or they found an old college photograph and were stung by how much weight they've put on. The result is that they become militant about dieting, they are going to go on the most intense and severe diet ever, and they will lose all fifty pounds in three months. Then, a month later, you run into them and they're eating twice as much junk food. When you ask what happened, they say that they slipped up once, and gave up their diet altogether. What happened, and why?
People are extreme about their diets place a lot of emphasis on complete control and absolute mastery of their habits. They want perfection, they want to follow the harshest rules and in doing so lose the most weight as quickly as they can. It's all or nothing, and this sets them up for their first slip. We're all human, and when trying to change long stranding habits it's normal that we will revert to our old ways. For these extreme dieters, however, this means they have failed their diet, and suddenly that means the diet is over. They eat one pizza slice they then eat the whole pizza, and it's game over.
You can see why extreme dieting is such a setup for failure. It means that you will never allow yourself to relax, to be human, to enjoy yourself. It's like holding your breathyou can only do it for so long, and then you need to take a breath. People who are extreme dieters are almost destined to fail because they cannot become robots, and in failing to do so they realize that they are human and abandon their ambitions.
Instead, the way to go is flexible dieting. Be realistic about your approach, factor in the idea that you will slip up, and that those mistakes are OK as long as you stick to your general dieting plan in the long run. If you approach dieting in this fashion it means that you will be fine, that you will always tend toward being healthy, and will actually lose more weight over the long term than the extreme dieter.
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