How not to Give Up

OK, now I understand which strategy I need to follow for optimal progress, and I’m aware of possible dangers on the way to my goal. But I assume that the result won’t be immediate. I’ll need to keep to the built scheme for quite a long time. And I’ve got a feeling it won’t be easy to hold on and not to give up halfway through.
Right?

Right… And wrong!

Of course, no one said it would be very easy. However, there’s nothing too difficult as well.

What should be taken into account

1. To hurry slowly¹. You’ll achieve the quickest results if you do everything slowly, however absurd it may sound at first. In particular, it concerns changing calorie intake.Stability is critical here. A slow tempo will allow you to avoid backslides and to make steady progress. So when you need to reduce calorie intake and you are tempted to cut it down by 500 kcal, resist this temptation and reduce it only by 100 kcal.

2. Not to concentrate on time. Don’t count days, hours and minutes. Try to find a regime that you’ll be able to keep to easily and steadily. Stability is the most important aspect of this business.

3. To avoid a state when the process of counting nutrients becomes boring or tiring. And certainly not to let this process become annoying. If you want to turn it into a habit, everything must be easy and quick – a couple of clicks, a few seconds and that’s it.

4. To keep your goal in your head. Always. It will allow you to be motivated on a continuing basis. Every doubt, like “What is it all for?”, should be blocked immediately by reminding yourself about your goal.

5. As much as possible, to avoid stress and anxiety. A caloric deficit causes stress by default. Try not to add to it external triggers. When you find yourself in a bad mood and you notice that your heart is beating faster than usually, take into account that it may be caused by biological factors, namely by the aforementioned caloric deficit.

6. To set up an optimal meal schedule. Don’t follow pseudoscientific recommendations, which have never been proven. It may be appropriate to consume the largest part of calories in the evening to avoid anxiety. And it may be OK to skip your breakfast to reduce calorie intake for the whole day.

7. To remember that your current craving for specific food will disappear with time. Sometimes you may have a strong urge to give in to temptation to eat a product that doesn’t fall within your regime. You may feel it would be reasonable to follow that urge because otherwise it will persistently bother you and won't leave you in peace. In such cases, remind yourself that it’s another attempt of your inner beast to deceive you and to start manipulating you. Remember that the urge won’t last permanently. If you ignore it and switch your attention to something else, it will quickly fade and recede.

8. To monitor your progress. To record every change – of body weight, calorie intake etc. Numbers and graphs will allow you to see a tendency. They often can help to see your progress and what has already been achieved.