Help sticking to a new eating plan

In the beginning it can be extremely hard sticking to a new dietary eating plan, especially if it's a healthy one full of low-fat and sometimes "boring" health foods. Some experts say that we only need to practice many changes for about 3 weeks because that's the average time it takes for us to establish any new habits. However some people often find the first few weeks to be the biggest challenge of all.

I always found the best trick is to use a 80:20 rule.
This is where I do my best to stick to any new diet for 80 percent of the time. This leaves 20 percent to enjoy small indulgences. I make sure that I go for a day or two completely resisting any urge then I know I can have something "bad" the next morning. It alway indulge in the morning or midday because there's less chance that it will be stored as body fat, especially if the food is eaten within an hour after a training session. It's like I'm building up some "indulgence credit" before cashing them in for a treat.

After 3 weeks on the 80:20 rule, I change it to the 90:10 rule where my eating becomes even stricter, this helps boost fat loss results. Plus at this stage it's a lot easier to adjust because I've had 3 weeks to establish the new habits.

Lifestyle changes are not easy but with some sensible thought and planning you can make things easier. Look at our page on lifestyle changes for more information and advise.