Blog

If you’re someone who goes on lots of different diet plans, you’ll know how things often pan out. At first, you go in full of enthusiasm and energy, but after a while, you either fall off the wagon and give up, or over time you simply get bored and old habits creep back in. That’s why it’s important to avoid boredom when you diet, and there are ways you can get through difficult times. Here are some tips to help you stay on the right path. 

1. Give yourself some breaks

While it’s great to have enthusiasm at the start of your diet plan, it’s important to factor in some breaks in the future. Trying to follow a diet with no end point and no potential for breaks means it’s more likely you’ll give up. The truth is that one day of treats won’t make you pile on weight, and an occasion like an upcoming night out, birthday or vacation can motivate you to stay on track. 

2. Find out what makes you bored

Finding out what triggers your boredom can help you overcome it and allow you to learn alternative ways to cope with boredom instead of reaching for sugary snacks or chips. If you’re feeling bored and craving some junk food, try these steps first.

• Drink some water and wait ten minutes to see if that helps

• Go for a walk or cycle to get your endorphins flowing and help you cope with your emotions

• Have a healthy snack such as a piece of fruit and eat it slowly so it helps you feel fuller

• Talk to a friend – having a diet buddy can really help at these times

• Find a hobby you can do at home that takes up both hands – it’s hard to eat junk food when you’re knitting, crafting or doing a puzzle

It’s easy to develop bad habits such as reaching for candy bars when you’re bored, so try to pay attention to what your body is telling you and look for other ways to deal with your emotions.

3. Choose a diet that you like

A diet shouldn’t feel like a punishment. If you choose a diet that’s the same foods every day, or things you don’t enjoy eating, then of course you will get bored very soon. It’s important to choose a good diet supplier such as Shake That Weight, who offer a wide range of products in many different flavors, so you can switch things up regularly. 

4. Consider a more flexible diet plan

Another option to help you eliminate boredom is to choose a flexible diet plan. For example, intermittent-fasting diets are becoming very popular, which mean you restrict your calories at certain times, but then eat sensibly the rest of the time. Intermittent fasting has proven to be effective and safe, and there are many ways to do it.  These diet plans include:

• 5:2 – you fast for two days a week, restricting your diet to 600 calories, then eat sensibly for the other five days

• 16:8 – you fast for 16 hours a day, about half of this time you’ll be asleep, then have an eight-hour window where you can eat. For example – noon until 8pm

• Eat-stop-eat – this is a tougher version of the 5:2 plan where you have two 24-hour fasts a day. It could be unsafe for some people, so consult your doctor before starting

• Alternate-day fasting – you follow a very low-calorie diet – around 600 calories a day – every other day

These types of diet can be good for those who easily suffer diet fatigue. You are basically doing your diet in short bursts, so you know that you can eat normally at the end of it. It’s also easier to fit around your lifestyle, so you don’t end up quitting because things get too hard. 

5. Avoid having unhealthy snacks at home

It’s not always possible to completely avoid your trigger foods, the things that you reach for when you’re bored. However, you can help yourself out by not keeping these foods in your house. This means that when you’re bored, you’re less likely to end up reaching for snacks and consuming hundreds of calories without even realizing. You should make sure you keep healthy snacks at home for when you genuinely feel hungry, and opt for protein-rich snacks to fill you up faster. 

6. Learn some new healthy recipes

Eating a wide variety of healthy meals can stop you from getting bored. Research has shown that the average American can only cook five meals without using a recipe, and people tend to make the same meals over and over. Learning some new dishes can help you alleviate diet boredom and means you eat a wider variety of foods. Look out for seasonal ingredients, try some plant-based dishes or low carb recipes to switch things up.

7. Get some support

When you get bored of your diet and are tempted to fall off the wagon, it can really help to have someone there to support you. There are lots of options for diet buddies:

• Your partner – if you both want to lose some weight, why not do it together? This means you’ll always have someone around to share the ups and downs

• Friends – dieting with friends makes things easier when the boredom starts to set in. Set up a group chat and you can all send messages when things get tough or swap tips

• Social media – most diet plans have social media pages with a strong community, so you can talk to others going through the same thing

Losing weight is not something you can do all on your own. You’re much more likely to be successful if you have someone you can talk or vent to, so don’t keep it all inside.

8. Find fun forms of exercise

Most diet plans will include a recommended amount of exercise each day, which can be hard to stick to if you do the same thing all the time. This can be another area where you get bored, so look for some fun forms of exercise and switch things up regularly. You are less likely to get bored of doing daily exercise if you’re dancing, rock climbing or doing yoga sessions, than if you’re taking the same running route every morning. Classes can be better than exercising as an individual as you sign up for a whole course, so even if you’re not in the mood to go, you can motivate yourself to do so. 

9. Keep your eye on the prize

It’s OK to sometimes feel bored when you diet, but it’s important to remember why you’re doing it in the first place. Before you start your diet, write down all the reasons why you’re making this big lifestyle change, whether it’s because of a health condition, because you want more energy or simply because you want to fit in your wedding dress. When you feel bored, keep revisiting this list and remember why you’re on this path and why it’s so important to stay motivated and on track.

Following a diet plan can be tough at times, no matter which one you choose. It’s only natural for your brain to want you to slip back into old habits, or to respond to emotions such as boredom by making you crave junk food. Luckily, there are ways you can deal with diet fatigue and avoid falling off the wagon, so you can break your unhealthy cycles. 

Photo by Jack Sparrow from Pexels