Changing your diet is tough as it is. Depriving yourself of foods you enjoy and forcing yourself to only eat things you hate, however, will destroy your motivation. When building a new diet, find healthy foods you enjoy, rather than just depriving yourself.
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As psychology site PsyBlog explains, when you centre your diet around depriving yourself of things you enjoy, you associate your changes with negative feelings. Even if you’re eating healthier foods, you can make yourself feel miserable about the positive changes. Rather than focusing on what you can’t eat, find things you enjoy that you can eat:
The reason is that most people think their conscious thoughts and intentions will change their behaviour, when in fact they don’t. What really drives a lot of actual, real-world dieting behaviour is the emotions… Any potential diet should be centred around a radical approach: enjoying what you eat.
No matter your tastes, chances are you can find something you enjoy eating that isn’t unhealthy. Of course, changing your diet will still require some level of self-control. Old habits are easy to slip back into. New ones are easier to build when you have a positive option, though.
The Real Psychological Reason Diets Are Hard To Follow [PsyBlog]
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