A lot of people find dieting very hard to do. I can totally relate as a change of habits is always difficult, especially when these habits are so founded in your long term behavior.
There are a lot of terms for the difficulty of getting used to a diet, but basically it’s usually just hard to suddenly eat much less than you’re accustomed to. Your body isn’t used to it and your mind isn’t used to it either.
But you have to eat less to create the calorie deficit necessary for weight loss, right?
It doesn’t have to be that way. A calorie deficit is created when you burn more calories than those you consume. It is all about energy in vs. energy out. When you eat less, you’re trying to reduce the Energy In side of the equation, but what about the Energy Out side of it?
After all, you can just as easily increase the amount of calories you burn and achieve a calorie deficit that way. It’s all about being active.
If you can manage to burn 100 calories extra each day due to being active (and you can easily burn more if you’re mind is set on it) you can also eat more (let’s say 50 calories extra) and still have a bigger calorie deficit than the one you had before.
It’s the Eat More Burn More mentality.
When you become more active, you can afford to be more loose with what you eat. It’s simple math. Since you burn more, you can eat more. You’ve earned it.
So, think to yourself how you can increase your activity level to burn more calories. Sure, going to the gym would be a good idea, but even taking an evening walk, doing some crunches or squats in front of the TV, or playing catch with your kids, are all excellent ways to be more active and burn more calories.
The next time you feel like eating something but know you shouldn’t, ask yourself how you can become more active and earn it.
This way you create a weight loss process which is much less depriving and difficult to stick to.
