Dieting Mistake #1: Too Many Changes. All At Once.

Create small routines and behaviors that accumulate to produce incremental positive outcomes over time.

Common Dieting Mistake #1:
Making Multiple Sudden and Drastic Changes All At Once

First, define your purpose.

A common acronym is the SMART Goal: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-Bound.

However, it’s also important to consider what your long-term goals are, too.

Where do you see yourself next year?

What about 5 years from now?

Are you looking to just lose weight or do you also want to be muscular?

Live longer?

Get rid of sleep apnea? 

There’s nothing wrong with having all of these goals, but it’s effective to pick one small behavior change to focus on at a time.

It’s tiny improvements that create change.

1% better every day for a year will compound to nearly 38 times better.

1% worse every day for over a year will bring you close to zero.

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Quick ways you’ll off the wagon.

1. Not establishing your current, primary focus.

2. Not establishing consistent and attainable systems that you know you can fall back on when things get really tough.

The #1 NYT bestselling author of Atomic Habits, James Clear, aptly states:

Think about what you want today and you'll spend your time.

Think about what you want in 5 years and you'll invest your time.

There’s no doubt that choosing to focus on your diet and health is, in general, an investment.

An investment that’s well worth the effort.

But, let’s be real — it’s not easy.

There are going to be days when you want to give up. You want to quit. You want to watch Netflix instead of going to the gym.

You want to say, “ah, screw it, I’m going to eat everything I can find in the fridge that’s not expired salad dressing because I deserve it.”

But, as James Clear also explains:

You do not rise to the level of your goals.

You fall to the level of your systems.

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How do we establish systems that we can fall back on when things get tough?

Atomic Habits are small routines and behaviors that accumulate to produce incremental positive outcomes over time.

If your focus is to lose weight, gain muscle, or anything that involves creating a habit, then start small and incrementally change towards that goal.

You can start by eating more protein first.

Start by just drinking more water.

Start by making sure you’re sleeping enough.

If going to the gym sounds daunting, start by just showing up and see where it leads you. Ask a friend to go with you.

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Start where you are. You’ll find your way. 

Just don’t change everything all at once because that’s just asking for burnout.