Avoid those Afternoon and Evening Splurges that Kill Your Diet

A typical day on a new diet….

You start off strong.

THIS time it is gonna work. THIS time you will get the weight off.

You wake up in the morning ready to finally get your weight loss plan going.

And you probably eat a healthy low calorie breakfast. You may even go get some exercise.

Everything seems to be going right and you are feeling very hopeful that this time your diet will work and you will lose the weight you want to lose.

Then what happens?

Did you know that most diets tend to break down or fall apart in the middle to late afternoon? Is that what usually happens to you?

There have been scientific studies conducted on brain waves that show that often around 3 -4 pm your body enters a time that researches have named the “breaking point.”

This is a time when your brain waves slow down and your body transitions into a place where it wants to be in a recuperating phase of rest or sleep. This causes your body to experience one of your lowest energy points of your waking hours. During this phase you may feel less alert, very fatigued and possibly like you need a nap. You know, that feeling of sluggishness near the end of your work day where you really just want to rest.

This is the time of day that a huge percentage of dieters fall of the wagon and they reach for food to try to regain energy to get themselves through the rest of the day.  Unfortunately these empty calories quite often don’t even give you energy – eating simply occupies your brain with action and falsely help you feel like your energy has been increased.

A better plan (and one that would help you stick with your new healthy diet) is to be very aware that these slower phases occur in your body and brain every day and make a plan to give yourself what you REALLY need (rather than empty calories) when those sluggish times of low energy hit you.

If you can, take a 20 minute break if at all possible. Grab a quick nap if it fits your schedule and your environment. You will feel a lot better if you can give your body the rest it wants. That short rest will rejuvenate you for the remainder of your day.

If you can’t take a quick nap, then at least take a small break. Even a 5 minute break with a change of pace (away from your desk if possible) where you do some light stretching, a short walk, grab some fresh air outside and reconnect to your body, your mind and YOU.

Avoid using food to push yourself through your day. Listen to your body and give it food only when it is hungry and give your body rest when it needs rest.  Get in touch with what you REALLY need and you will reach your health and weight loss goals.