When you’re changing your diet to lose weight, deprivation is NOT something you should be feeling!
Changing your habits and routines can be hard work, and you’re likely to experience some cravings here and there too.
But on the whole, you should feel that your change of diet is making you feel better along the way to your goals, and not worse.
If you’ve recently made a change to the way you’re eating and you’re feeling hungry, deprived and miserable, here are some ideas to consider:
Could you have cut your intake too much?
Ideally, we only want to reduce your intake as much as is necessary to get your body to respond. In fact, often, all we need to do is change up what you are eating, while keeping your actual calorie intake about the same.
While cutting your intake more will of course give you faster results at first, what are you going to do when that runs out of impact? It’s best to leave something in the pot for another day.
Are you being TOO strict?
While you do, of course, need to be consistent with your plan when you’re trying to lose weight, it’s important to remember things don’t need to be perfect. Things only need to be good enough for you to see the changes you’re looking for.
Are you feeding your body what it needs?
If you’re low on nutrients in general and particularly protein, your body won’t feel satisfied and you’ll find yourself raiding the cupboards. Make sure you’re eating a good serving of protein at every meal and filling up with plenty of fibre rich veggies.
Are you on a blood sugar roller coaster?
This follows on from the last point. If you’re living on low protein, low nutrition foods, regardless of their calorie count, they’re not going to sustain you very well… And sooner or later, you’ll find yourself raiding the cupboards!
Have you remembered the importance of lifestyle factors?
A high stress life and poor sleep quality can make it much harder to stick to your new eating plan.
On the flip side, if you’re considering making a change to your diet and want to know what you should notice if you’re doing things right, here are some things to look out for:
– good and sustainable energy levels
– a clear mind able to focus on what you’re doing
– good sleep quality
– if you’re exercising, you should notice your performance should improve
– decent digestion
– gradually reducing food cravings
I hope this gives you some ways to gauge whether you’re approaching things in the right way.