How to force yourself to go on a diet and how not to break a diet as a woman: 7 main rules for better motivation

I can’t go on a diet... How often do we say this phrase, how often do we hear it from other women who want to lose weight. And all this is accompanied by one main and universal “excuse” about the lack of willpower. This article is for those who want to cultivate this very willpower in themselves and train it to benefit your slender figure. Here we will also tell you the secrets about when and how best to go on a diet: they will help you lose weight faster and more effectively, regardless of what diet you have chosen.

How to properly go on a diet to lose weight?

If before you decided to go on a diet you were eating rather randomly, eating whatever you wanted at any time of the day, and now you want to strictly limit yourself in your diet, most likely you will quickly fall apart. In order to go on a strict diet, and even more so if you have chosen a mono-diet (where the basis of all nutrition is one product), you need to prepare your body for the coming stress.

To do this, try to limit yourself to non-essential nutrition for some time:

eliminate meals before bed,
reduce portion size by 1/3,
add more vegetables, fruits and fiber to your diet,
Eat simple carbohydrates only in the first half of the day.

This preparation will be an excellent basis for your new eating routine, in addition, when you go on a stricter diet, the body will no longer be so surprised and will not store any food that comes into it as fat.

So, the right way to go on a diet:

having prepared your body;
motivating yourself correctly;
choosing the right diet;
at a certain period when it is easier to lose weight.

If the thought has crept into you that you need to arrange a farewell evening with your favorite treats before sitting on kefir for a whole week, urgently drive it away. Having eaten your fill in the evening, in the morning you will experience a brutal feeling of hunger, and this will significantly complicate your diet.

How to start a diet

Ideally, you need to gradually wean yourself off foods high in calories, carbohydrates, and fats, replacing them with healthier foods with low energy value. It is worth deciding where to start the diet in order to eliminate possible stress on the body. Below are the main steps:

Choose a suitable diet.
Change the menu smoothly - this may take several days.
Go on a diet now, not on Monday.
Take into account the individual characteristics of the body.
Get rid of the habit of eating in front of the computer or TV.
Doing physical exercise.

How to choose the right diet for weight loss

Finding an effective way to lose weight is not easy. Going on a hunger strike is not an option, so it is better to balance your diet. To choose the right diet, you should consider the following factors:

previous experience;
taste preferences;
financial opportunities;
health status;
duration of the diet and its effectiveness;
presence of allergy-causing products.

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When is the best time to go on a diet?

Starting to lose weight on Monday is an excellent plan, say British scientists, but it is not suitable for everyone. The best time for a diet is the weekend, when a person is in a relaxed psychological state and can control his diet. The worst period for losing weight is considered to be holidays and the days that follow them. The stomach has time to stretch, so dieting causes additional stress. In order not to break down by the third day of the diet, you should wait until the body gets used to everyday life.

What do you need to know before going on a diet to lose weight?

Dietary restrictions are not always good for everyone. First of all, it is important not to harm your body through diet. Therefore, before you go on a diet, make sure that:

you are absolutely healthy, in particular, you have never complained about the functioning of your stomach or intestines;
you do not suffer from constipation with a normal diet, since constipation is a companion to most diets;
you are not pregnant or planning to become pregnant;
if you are a nursing mother, make sure your baby is getting enough breast milk;
Strict diets are contraindicated for a growing body; it is enough to simply streamline your diet.

In addition, there are certain periods when you go on a diet during which you will lose weight faster, more effectively and without pangs of hunger. We will tell you more about these periods below.

Which weight loss method is better to choose?

So, having gathered her will into a fist and decided to lose weight, the woman thinks about which diet is best to go on. After all, there are a huge number of different systems, and it is very difficult to make a choice.

Here are some recommendations on what diet to go on:

Choose the one in which you will need to consume products that are acceptable to you in terms of price and taste.
Remember that not all diets are created equal and may be right for you. Therefore, consultation with a specialist is necessary here so that the nutritional system not only contributes to weight loss, but also does not harm you.
The diet should be within your power. There are those where there is a very strict diet and many restrictions. If you're not sure you can handle it, it's better to choose something lighter.
If you can easily give up eating your favorite foods, you can choose one of the mono-diets. They give good results in a short time, but it is important to understand that you will only have to eat 1-2 products during the diet.
If you're not much of a cook, you'll enjoy the raw diet. On it you need to eat vegetables and fruits raw. A small amount of cottage cheese, nuts, honey, seeds, natural vegetable and fruit juices, and herbal teas are allowed.

In conclusion, I would like to note: in order to make losing weight not so difficult for you, before going on a diet, you can ask your loved ones to help you. For example, a friend or mother can control your diet. And if the whole family participates in losing weight, and no one is tempted by various goodies, then the diet will be calmer and more effective.

What to do if you don’t have the willpower to go on a diet?

How many times have you sworn to yourself: “That’s it, start on a diet from Monday,” and then Monday came, by its evening your fighting spirit was gone, and your promises remained promises. Of course, there are so many temptations around, especially food ones, and you are not one of the cohort of purposeful and strong-willed people. But you can take charge of yourself, even without enormous willpower, you just need to approach the issue of diet with self-hypnosis and the right motivation.

On the other hand, our body is very smart and knows when and what it needs. If he doesn’t “let” you go on a diet, then you probably don’t need a diet. Just try to rebuild your diet, make adjustments to your usual diet. For example:

drink more drinks that help you lose weight ;
if all your willpower is limited to a diet for one day, try having fasting days , this way you will lose weight on your own without exposing your body to stress;
study the lists of the most useful and harmful products and, accordingly, make changes to your menu;
eat the same thing you ate, but half as much and before 19.00 : this way you will “appease” your willpower a little and help your dreams of a slim figure come true.

The main thing is motivation

There can be many reasons for people to lose weight.
But the presence of these is far from a sign that you have sufficient motivation. For example, the most common reason for starting a diet is dissatisfaction with your reflection in the mirror. But at the same time, it is this kind of motivation that is the weakest. It’s rare that someone suddenly realizes, “Oh, how fat I am!” and begins to lose weight sharply. As a rule, people who have already become accustomed to their body do not try to lose weight very hard, because they manage to find a million excuses for why they did not do it before. And since they lived somehow before this, they will live afterwards. For example, lovers reason differently. In fact, falling in love is one of the best ways to lose weight. Only its durability leaves much to be desired.

“Truly strong motivation arises in people only when they are in love,” confirmed the director of the Institute of Nutrition of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences, Viktor Tutelyan, . — To achieve reciprocity, a person actively looks after himself and, as a result, achieves success in the field of health. But when we get what we want, motivation weakens, and if a family is created, it is completely lost.

It turns out that family life is harmful to both health and appearance. Much more beneficial for your figure is the image of a lonely careerist, no matter how cynical it may sound. Hundreds of clear examples - singers, actors, businessmen - flash before our eyes every day.

“The second most powerful motivation for leading a healthy lifestyle is a public profession,” says Tutelyan. — Life forces artists to take care of themselves, because either you keep yourself in proper shape, or you become unclaimed.

How to set up and force yourself to go on a diet: 7 rules of motivation

Most often, we want to lose weight for something or someone, although it is quite possible that it is just for ourselves - so that we can like ourselves from the outside and in the mirror, so that our favorite things fit better, in order to feel better. Or maybe your true goal is to attract more interest from men or an upcoming event where you want to look perfect in a new size 44 dress? Remember the reason for your weight loss, cultivate it in your head, punish yourself for every thought about “jumping off the diet.”
Before you seriously go on a diet: try not to eat after 18.00 for 3 days, and during the daytime, indulge yourself less in unhealthy treats. You will see how during these days your stomach will tighten, your waist will appear, your cheeks will disappear, your hips will become less rounded. This is after 3 days, imagine what will happen if you stick to the whole diet. Seeing results is the best incentive for you!
They say that when you fall in love, willpower, the necessary incentive, and a quick effect appear unexpectedly. When you're in love, you don't really want to eat, so if you're in love, it's time to go on a diet!
Look at the “before and after” photos of fat girls who were able to lose weight, read their stories on blogs and forums, get inspired by it, and maybe you’ll want to repeat their feat!
Now on weight loss forums there are many different groups that girls join who want to find like-minded people to lose weight. Register in one of them, chat with girls and lose weight together - it’s easier and more fun, and by supporting each other, you can achieve more.
Tell everyone that you are going on a diet - your friends, colleagues, family. Let them, firstly, stop seducing you, and secondly, make sure that you don’t eat something extra that is not prescribed in the diet: shift part of your motivation and responsibility for your weight loss to them.
Dream! Think about how slim you will become, what beautiful clothes you will be able to wear, imagine that you are already like this, and that there is just a little left to make your dreams come true... Well, really, for the sake of this happiness, won’t you endure a week or two on a diet?

How to go on a diet: where to start?

You need to start by preparing your body and mind for a diet. We described above how to prepare the body. As for consciousness, the right psychological attitude will stimulate willpower and spirit, allowing you not just to “go on a diet”, angry at the whole world around you, but to confidently and positively move forward along the dietary path. Therefore, make a firm promise to yourself not to retreat one step from your chosen vector.

If the chosen diet involves a specific menu or set of products, stock up on them in advance. This will additionally stimulate you - don’t waste any food. Let there be no harmful things in your refrigerator, at least let them come into your sight as little as possible.

How to force yourself

“I don’t have willpower”, “There must be a lot of good people”, “There are so few joys in life” - these and other excuses are invented by thousands of men and women. Most often, they postpone their diet until Monday, the beginning of vacation, or New Year.

This is the biggest mistake! It is very important to determine the start date of the diet and strictly adhere to it.

To switch to a new rhythm of life easily, you need to limit yourself gradually. Especially if the food was excessive and excessively high in calories.

How to reduce the body's need for food and achieve dietary nutrition at home:

Start each meal with a glass of warm water. It will speed up the digestion process, fill part of the stomach volume and allow you to reduce the portion.
If you can’t give up flour and sweets, you can move all the “goodies” to the first half of the day. You can have time to burn extra calories before the evening.
Do not eat 2-3 hours before bedtime. You can afford water, sweet and sour fruit or low-fat kefir.
Introduce vegetable salads and fruits into your daily diet. Add them to every meal.
Start playing sports. It’s paradoxical, but after good physical activity you almost don’t feel like eating. Regular training will ensure weight loss already at the stage of preparation for the diet!

What diet to go on to definitely lose weight: how to choose?

Whether you can go on a diet and stay on it also depends on your choice of diet.

Choose the one for which you are completely satisfied with the set of products.
You should not be allergic to foods from the diet.
Don't go on diets that are too hungry or too monotonous.

Paradox: it is easier to maintain a short weekly diet or an express diet for 3 days, but their results will not last long - the kilograms will return as soon as you start eating normally. It’s not easy to maintain a diet that lasts 14 or 28 days, but during this time you will not only see an impressive plumb line, but also maintain the result for a longer period.

Remember, in order to lose weight quickly and for a long time, diet alone is not enough, you need an integrated approach, which includes:

building a low-calorie diet;
competent physical activity and sports;
compliance with the drinking regime;
eating enough fiber;
timely cleansing of the body.

How to diet to lose weight

Exercise is a surefire way to lose weight. However, to achieve good results, the body needs nutrients as a source of energy. What dietary foods should you eat while losing weight:

Fiber. Just 20 grams a day helps relieve hunger and reduce the risk of obesity.
Protein-rich foods. They are especially good for breakfast.
Monounsaturated fatty acids that strengthen the heart and serve as a source of energy.
Water helps the body burn calories faster.

You also need to eat more foods rich in calcium and vitamin D - these substances play an important role in weight control. This valuable vitamin prevents heart disease, memory loss and chronic pain, and is indispensable when performing sports activities. Its deficiency interferes with the action of the hormone leptin, which sends signals to the brain that a person is full.

Daily dose of vitamin D:

from 19 to 49 years old - 200 mcg;
50-70 years ̶ 400 mcg;
71+ ̶ 600 mcg.

Proper nutrition on a diet

A well-thought-out menu directly affects weight loss. Separate nutrition helps you lose extra pounds and improve your health. It remains to decide what to eat during the diet:

whole grain cereals;
fresh fruits, vegetables rich in fiber;
light soups;
nuts;
avocado;
steamed fish, poultry;
cottage cheese, milk;
greenery;
legumes;
seafood;
eggs;
low-fat yogurt;
drink green tea.

In order to lose weight, you need to exclude, well, as a last resort, reduce as much as possible the consumption of foods and dishes from the following list:

fried food;
potato;
pasta;
butter;
sweets;
White bread;
carbonated drinks;
flour;
alcohol (except dry wine);
coffee;
sausage;
sugar;
pickles.

Physical exercise

Fatigue, low activity, poor concentration are the main problems of people who go on a strict diet. Playing sports at full strength will not work here, even with the right motivation. You can train at home, standing, or sitting on the floor. The most effective physical activities for dieters:

Warm up. You can perform the simplest actions: sit down, stand up, bend in both directions, massage muscles, etc.
Interval training. Exercises alternate with short periods of rest. The procedure is as follows: 60 seconds of increased load are followed by 30 seconds of rest and vice versa.
Run. Helps to lose weight in the buttocks, hips, waist, strengthen the heart muscle and improve well-being.
Stretching. Muscles need it to maintain their elasticity. You can try to do the splits (at least conditionally). The effect will be noticeable in a week: the skin will become elastic and noticeably tightened.
Yoga. A great way to recharge your batteries and lose weight.

Which lunar day to go on a diet: advice from astrologers

Astrologers advise starting a diet on the waning moon - this will contribute to rapid weight loss without much effort on your part. As they say, everything eaten at this time will not be harmful. Also, the full moon is the best day for fasting; during this period it is recommended to arrange fasting days.

The most favorable days to start a diet are in 2017-2018.

The ideal time to say goodbye to extra pounds is the period from the full moon to the new moon.

Should a woman go on a diet during her period?

During menstruation, the body retains water more than usual, so almost all women notice a weight gain of 1-2 kg in the period before menstruation and during menstruation. In addition, many suffer from the so-called PMS, the onset of which, in addition to bad mood, increased tearfulness and susceptibility to stress, is also characterized by attacks of brutal hunger. This is not just a strong appetite, but a desire to eat something spicy, smoked, salty or sweet - that is, all the most unhealthy things, the opposite of what is customary to eat on any diet.

This is why during and before menstruation it is so difficult to force yourself to go on a diet: the female body loses blood, and we also “offer” it a significant restriction in its usual diet. In addition, due to the body’s accumulation of excess fluid, the scale will show us how reluctant it is to part with the extra grams, which is certainly not the best motivation for those losing weight who want to lose weight as quickly as possible.

If you nevertheless decide to go on a diet during your period, but are worried that there will be no result, do not be discouraged: the body will certainly please you with a good plumb line, but not in the first days of the cycle, but after the critical days come to an end.

How to go on a strict diet and not break?

You need to be mentally prepared for a strict diet. You must understand that this is why it is tough, that you will not be able to snack on whatever you want at any time. Is this diet suitable for you?
Keep a weight loss diary where you will record your successes, recipes for dietary dishes, changes in your weight and volume in centimeters as a result of following the diet, your photographs, tracking the dynamics of your weight loss.
Step on the scale as often as possible - before bed, before bed, before meals and after meals. They say that on a diet you need to weigh yourself once a week, but this is not in your case. If there is no willpower, you should see every gram that you lost and every gram that came back - this is better stimulating.
Do not give in to the anti-advice of well-wishers that you are already slim, and one piece of candy or cake will not play a role in your diet. Firstly, this is usually said by those who are jealous, people who are interested in your mistakes. And secondly, you know better whether you need to lose weight.
Don't tighten up your already strict diet over time and don't skip meals. Often, noticing the first good plumb lines, you feel joy and an upsurge of strength, and you really want to enhance the result and tighten your diet even more. It is unacceptable. At some point, hunger will outwit you: your appetite will increase, you will overeat, and everything that you have achieved previously will be lost.

Nutrition after embryo transfer

Nutrition plays an important role in successful implantation and subsequent development of the child. It is through food that a woman receives most of the substances necessary for the normal development of the fetus and maintaining pregnancy. Nutrition also ensures rapid recovery of the body after ovarian stimulation and maintenance therapy, which are themselves stress factors. Eating food after embryo transfer must comply with the following rules:

Fragmentation - it is advisable to eat 4-5 times a day in small portions to avoid a heavy load on the digestive system, gas formation and constipation, which can cause overstrain of the pelvic muscles and provoke rejection of the embryo from the uterus;
Regularity - you need to eat food at the same time so that the body adapts to the diet and most effectively extracts from foods the nutrients necessary for the mother and the unborn baby;
Moderation - immediately after embryo transfer, you do not need to eat “for two”; at this stage, the incoming nutrients are quite sufficient for the development of the embryo, and excessive load on the digestive system will reduce the likelihood of its successful consolidation.

The diet after embryo transfer also needs strict control. It is recommended to eat more protein foods (lean meat, fish, poultry), boiled or stewed vegetables and fruits, nuts, and low-fat cottage cheese. Fast food, canned food, salted, pickled, smoked foods, and fatty foods can be eaten, but in limited quantities. Milk, cabbage, legumes, carbonated drinks and other foods that cause flatulence and/or, conversely, constipation, must be excluded. In addition, the consumption of coffee, strong black tea, and especially alcohol also needs to be either greatly reduced or completely removed from the diet. Caffeine, which is a natural stimulant, can cause uterine contractions that interfere with implantation, and ethanol is a strong systemic poison that provokes congenital disorders in the fetus, miscarriages and other complications.

What to do if you really want sweets while on a diet?

In almost all diets, sweets are contraindicated for those losing weight, so lovers of chocolates and cakes have a hard time. If you belong to the category of those who cannot do without sugar-containing products for a long time, do not choose strict diets with a menu clearly defined by days and hours.

If your diet involves making adjustments to your diet, and you really want something sweet, dried fruits will help, choose the ones you love. And although many dried fruits have a fairly high calorie content (for example, dates), only 4-5 fruits are enough to slightly “discourage” the desire for sweets. In addition, if you really can’t bear it, then with a not too strict diet you can afford the following delicacies in small quantities:

marshmallows, marshmallows, marmalade;
jelly;
honey;
bitter chocolate;
maple syrup (very tasty with baked apples).

If your diet is still strict and does not include eating sweets at all, then if you have an irresistible desire to eat something sweet, just brush your teeth - this will slightly reduce the craving for desserts.

I went off the diet and ate too much: what to do?

This happens quite often. In fact, there are two options for the development of further events.

If you still feel the strength to fight for a slim figure, you can continue the diet from tomorrow, or better yet, start it again, as this is stated in the main principles of many diets, for example, the Maggi diet. If you lose your temper, eat something that doesn’t match the menu, or accidentally mix up the ingredients, start over.
Your body is simply not ready to diet right now. You can choose a more appropriate time to start a diet, or give preference to a different, more loyal diet. A reference on how to choose the best time to diet is given above.

Why does your head and stomach hurt when you go on a diet?

A headache may accompany you during a diet if the diet is not suitable for you: either it is too strict and “hungry”, or maybe you do not have enough carbohydrates and sugar, because without the proper amount of glucose normal brain activity is impossible . Therefore, if you still do not want to consume sugar directly, add fruits, honey or dried fruits to your diet.

Many of those losing weight admit that headaches haunt them for the first 3-4 days, then the body gets used to being content with less food, and the pain and dizziness go away.

Any diet for weight loss does not have a good effect on the functioning of the stomach, and many of those losing weight also complain of periodic pain in the stomach and intestines. The gastrointestinal tract may hurt when losing weight due to:

too abrupt transition to limited nutrition;
too little food;
non-compliance with diet, too long intervals between meals;
if the amount of food varies significantly from meal to meal;
if there are contraindications to the diet or stomach diseases, even in their infancy.

When can you go on a diet after childbirth?

It is not recommended to strictly limit yourself in nutrition immediately after the birth of a child: the body is already very weakened, and besides, it puts enormous effort into producing milk for the newborn baby. During the month when postpartum discharge (lochia) occurs, following a strict diet is unsafe both for women’s health and for the development of the baby if the mother is breastfeeding.

After childbirth, the weight will go away quite quickly: the body will get rid of excess fluid, all processes will return to normal and stabilize, and fat deposits will be burned more intensively if the woman begins to breastfeed the baby on demand. It has been proven that milk production causes the body to burn calories much faster.

And yet, it is quite possible for a nursing mother to lose weight through a diet without harming the health and development of the child.

What to do at home after transplantation?

There is no need to follow any special regime after the transplant, but it is recommended to spend the rest of the day after the procedure calmly. It is better to get from the hospital to your home by taxi or private car (just don’t drive). You should not use public transport, as it can lead to stressful situations. At home you need to follow these recommendations:

avoid stress and any negative emotions that can provoke contraction of the uterine muscles and thereby interrupt embryo implantation;
lead a moderately active life - in particular, it is useful to engage in sports such as swimming, simple fitness exercises, light physical labor, walking to avoid blood stagnation in the genitals;
for 1-2 weeks do not visit saunas, steam baths, swimming pools and open reservoirs, do not take a bath, wash only in a warm shower.

Physical activity should be alternated with rest - it is better to spend about 1-2 hours lying down during the day. You can safely do any household chores as long as they do not involve high physical activity.

Much attention must be paid to the psycho-emotional state. Before receiving these tests, it is important to immediately tune in to any outcome of embryo transfer - both successful and unsuccessful. This will help avoid disappointment and, as a result, depression, which can negatively affect the state of the body and reproductive system, thereby reducing the likelihood of success in subsequent IVF attempts. In this regard, you should also not rush to take a home pregnancy test. If you rush through it, you can get false positive results that can cause stress and depression. Therefore, it is better to take a pregnancy test according to the recommendations and under the supervision of a professional doctor.