The Glycemic Index Diet for Dummies - Meri Raffetto [131]
Looking for the positives
Finding the positives in your situation is the first step to making long-term changes and a solid way to build support for your goals. Putting your focus on all the benefits of your chosen lifestyle changehelps you stick to those changes because it's natural to want to do something that feels great.
The biggest problem with dietary changes is that most people don't inherently dislike the way they eat — they just hate that their chosen foods are causing them to gain weight or have health issues. When they realize that they have to change the foods they eat to see results, they tend to get caught up in negative thoughts such as "I can't eat pasta ever again" or "I'm going to have troubles eating out." Letting your mind go to these negative places is easy, but it's not helpful to your long-term goals.
To conquer negativity surrounding lifestyle changes, start thinking about all the benefits of your new plan. Doing so not only helps you feel better about your choices but also gives you the motivation you need to make real lifestyle changes you can live with for the long haul. The benefits work as long-term motivators that you can bring out when you need them the most.
Following a low-glycemic diet has many benefits for you to focus on. Here are just a few to get you started:
Weight loss: You probably bought this book because you want to lose weight. Eating a low-glycemic diet can help you do that. It can also help you maintain weight loss long term so you can be free from the dieting roller coaster. If that's not a major motivator, I don't know what is.
Improved energy: The low-glycemic plan I encourage throughout this book provides your body with more energy-boosting foods so you can feel great during the day rather than rundown.
Disease prevention: A low-glycemic lifestyle helps decrease your risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer by incorporating more fruits, vegetables, and fiber into your diet.
Feeling better all around: Okay, okay, this one's a little vague, but it really is true that when you eat healthy foods most of the time, you just feel better. I once had a 24-year-old male client who was doing great with his new diet changes. He then went on a small vacation with his buddies and ate hamburgers and burritos for one day. In just that one day he felt so bad (low energy, bogged down) that he simply thought "I just can't eat like this anymore." Like my client, feeling better overall can be a great motivator for long-term change.
Committing to a new approach
Although embracing your new dietary habits may be easy, giving up your old ones often isn't. That's what makes commitment such an important part of the change process — it's another tool for building support for your chosen way of life. One of the biggest reasons I see people struggle with making lifestyle changes is that they try to follow both their new and old habits, and sometimes the two just don't mesh.
For example, one client of mine did ablutely great following her low-glycemic diet guidelines in a balanced way. In addition, her meal planning became habitual, and her exercise was consistent. However, she still gave in to her "vice" — eating cookies in front of the television with her husband. Having some cookies once in a while is no biggie and certainly works within a moderate nutrition plan, but my client and her husband shared a package of cookies five or more nights a week. This old habit interfered with my client's progress, and because she wasn't seeing the type of results she wanted, she wound up feeling frustrated.
Committing to a new way of life means really letting go of those things (foods, activities, and so on) that aren't serving you anymore, no matter how much you may enjoy them. Commitment also comes into play when you face life challenges that get in the way of your goals. When you're committed to a goal, you find solutions that work for you; when you aren't committed, you go back to your old habits.
I like to use a visual example of