Editor’s Note: This post is part of our 5 things guest post series, see details here. This is Ashley’s first post but she will be a regular contributor to Genpink, so please give her a warm welcome!
Hi GenPink readers.
My name is Ashley and this is my very first post on GenPink. I’m looking forward to joining Elysa & Nelli as the Content Marketing Manager. The first time I read this blog I felt inspired & empowered as a Gen Y woman. I wanted to contribute to this blog in hopes that other women in my generation can wield my tips and tricks in their own lives. Before we get into my first post, I want to share a little background story about why this topic is something I feel compelled to share.
About 3 years ago I had a picture posted to my Facebook page that was of myself posing with a couple of my skinny-minny girlfriends. At the time the picture was taken, I was 40 pounds heavier than what I weigh today. In that moment I realized I was tired of hating every picture taken of me. So I decided to do something about it and signed up for Weight Watchers. I’ve kept the weight off now for 2 years and continue to work on this lifestyle change. I will speak to this topic often as it has made me into the person I am today. It was truly a lifestyle change & an accomplishment I feel proud of.
So, here are 5 very common self-sabotaging diet pitfalls that are easy to fall victim to.
It’s easy to talk yourself out of things, especially when it comes to eating healthier and working out. Over the course of the past 3 years, I dropped 40 pounds and have finished 2 marathons but it took some major overhauling in my train of thought about diet and excersize choices in an effort to get to this point. Through conversations with women who want to know what the secret to my health ‘success’ has been, I realized that the below 5 things are mentioned over and over again as reasons for failed diets.
1.Not sure I can pencil it in today: I have a dinner reservation at 7pm and I don’t think I have enough time to work out today. We all have busy schedules and things come up all the time. Happy hour invitations, dinner invitations and sometimes you just need to say no. When I am training for a marathon, consistency is key and I make a point to plan my weekly schedule around a work hard- play hard mentality.
2.I had a salad for lunch; I deserve these fries for dinner: This internal compromise is so tempting to make but will only put your long-term goal further from reach. When you are trying to lose weight, it’s all about the numbers game. Simple math. It takes 3,000 calories to lose a pound of fat. Therefore, you must eat fewer calories than what you burn off. A more realistic compromise would be to through a fun topping on your salad like homemade croutons or pecans to jazz up your mid-day greens and opt for some steamed veggies as a side for dinner. Trust me, you will thank yourself the next day when your food remorse kicks in right after that first cup of coffee.
My trick to enjoying salads is to keep them colorful!
3.Too much too soon: When you are motivated to start eating healthier or working out, it’s so easy to immediately kick it into high gear but so often I hear people say that it only lasts for a day or two. When I first started running, I started by setting small goals for myself. I wanted to run 3 miles in under 35 minutes. Setting goals for yourself that you can actually achieve will lead to success. Once you achieve those, then you can take it to the next level. It took me three years of running before I worked my goal up to running a full marathon. So kick that discouragement to the curb and enjoy the small wins!
My first running achievement was finishing my first 5k in 2010.
3 years later my latest running achievement was finishing my 2nd marathon in 2013.
4.Calorie debt; Borrow today and pay back tomorrow: I’m going to take a break today but do double work tomorrow. This is why so many people are in credit card debt, borrow today pay back tomorrow is such a simple concept. However, when tomorrow rolls around and you don’t make up for what you previously debted yourself plus you add on top of that, you dig yourself in a hole. This is when I would try to compromise with myself instead of completely forgoing a workout or splurging on fries as a side. If I still go to the gym and did half the workout originally planned, then at least I did something. Getting there is half the battle and once I was there, I usually ended up doing the full work out anyway. Or I will still get the burger & fries for dinner but I will request a to-go box immediately and put the bun and half the fries in it so I am not tempted to overeat. There are compromises to everything. So don’t dig yourself into a health debt, ladies.
5.Short-term satisfaction vs. long-term happiness: Once I learned to identify when I was doing something to myself that only provided instant gratification but long-term did nothing for me, I was able to strengthen my will power. You may be craving those salty chips for a late-night snack but if you were to sleep on it and decide in the morning whether you really still wanted those chips, I bet the answer is no.