The Pareto Diet System: Part 2 – Compliance
In Part 1 of the Pareto Diet System, I introduced the 5 most important facets of a successful diet.
Compliance is the biggest failure point for people on a diet. It is the reason why 93% of people who loose weight end up gaining it back within 3 years. If you are embarking on a diet, one of the biggest issues you will need to resolve is how to stick to the diet in the long term. This is not just a discipline issue, but rather one where you can maximize your chances of success by reducing the amount of discipline required.
- Make it easy to eat healthy
- Create a diet you can enjoy
- Remember your reasons for following the diet.]
- Don’t beat yourself up when you fail
- Have a friend / accountability partner
- Make it easy to eat healthy
Start stocking only healthy food at home, make it easy to eat healthy food, and make it harder to eat unhealthy food, by making it less convenient. Remember the pareto principle of dieting and focus on getting the main areas of your diet correct (calories, macronutrients). Don’t sweat the small stuff too much. This is one of the reasons I like to include things like high quality protein bars in my diet since it makes it more convenient for me to eat healthy.
2. Create a diet you can enjoy
It is important to create a diet that you actually enjoy. You can use seasonings and favours that you enjoy in moderation on whole foods in order to help you enjoy the taste. Going to a diet that is too onerous and restrictive is very difficult in the long run. Remember that the point of a good diet and healthy lifestyle is to help you enjoy your life more.
3. Remember your reasons for why you want to loose weight
Once of the main reasons people fail on a diet, or any other activity involving ‘discipline’ is that they our brains overvalue 1st order pain / pleasure and under value future pain / pleasure. The benefits of the diet are more long term, and as a result you need to remind your self of your long term reasons for doing the diet and tie them into your short term actions.
For example you may have multiple reasons for getting in shape, you should list them out and remind yourself of them on a regular basis.
4. Don’t beat yourself up when you fail
Don’t beat yourself up when you fail, just gently bring yourself back on track. Listen to your internal self-talk, do you talk to yourself like a trusted friend or a tyrant ? Gently but firmly engage in self-encouragement. Diet and health are not an all or nothing proposition. Just eating slightly healthier than you normally would can result in big changes over time.
5.Have a friend, coach or accountability partner
Humans are social creatures, and in many ways the behavior of those around you will have an impact on your own eating habits, if your friends, family, or significant others join the journey with you, you will both have an easier time sticking to a diet and will have the ability to succeed. A personal coach can also help increase your chances of success, the extra cost can be viewed as an investment in your own health. This is an option particularly if you have tried and failed at maintaining these diets in the past. Another option is to have an online accountability partner, there are many online communities where you can find people that are on the same journey as you and will be helpful and encouraging.
Whatever approach you choose remember that ultimately success depends on you being able to enjoy a fit lifestyle in the long term, rather than making some painful heroic efforts in the short term.
