One of the biggest problems when dieting is you think you have to be all or nothing. I have covered this loads in other posts so not harping on about it again here BUT you assume that you’re either ON your diet, or OFF your diet, and there is no middle ground.

I get that, to a large degree I am exactly the same, but that attitude is holding you back, especially when you have meals out or social events to attend.

One of the common replies I get when asking members how they are doing is this…

“Yes JJ going great but I am out next XXX for a friends XXX and obviously won’t be able to diet then”

And that’s the problem, especially coming into the festive season. 

Actually, the night out, meal out, whatever is NOT the problem, not at all. One sensible night out, meal out, drinks whatever is ok, your body can handle it and in a lot of cases the uplift in calories can do you some good.

The problem is that because you see it as a ‘Well I can’t possibly diet” situation, and therefore like a free ticket and “Sod it I have blown it anyway today” kind of thing you go supernova and mental with it and eat seconds, and deserts, and basically everything you can and get it all in  (and OUT of your system) ready to get back on it tomorrow, and THAT is the problem.

You don’t end up having a normal night out, meal out whatever, you end up having a CRAZY one instead and that DOES do a load of damage to your efforts, you simply eat and drink like a non rational person, having absolutely no regards to your fat loss efforts ??? 

and doing that DOES set you back, and DOES cause damage and DOES stop you moving forward, because these events and times are always going to happen, you are always going to have them in your life..

and if you don’t learn to treat them as being OK and NOT an excuse to be lazy and careless and throw all caution to the wind you WILL forever be going round in circles.

We are going into the best dieting period of the year, dark nights, kids back at school and summer over.

This means enjoy the social times (if there are less than 6 of you!) but be sensible, you don’t HAVE to eat all the chocolates and biscuits JUST because they are there, you don’t HAVE to have a dessert, you do NOT have to grab a maccies on the way home “Cos It’ll be the last one you have as you are back on the diet tomorrow”

Show some restraint, be mature, be an adult, have fun, enjoy these times OF COURSE, but keep one eye on the fact that if you go and blow this time completely, carelessly going day to day eating anything and everything then you are going to be the heaviest EVER come January (and post December) and you know ALREADY dieting is hard for you, the last thing you want is to make the task EVEN bigger.

Like you have all the previous years, and look where that has got you!