How to Recognize Diet Denial

Diet denial is ignoring or avoiding the fact it is necessary to change your eating and nutrition habits in order to get healthy, lose or even gain weight. Yo-yo dieting, fad diets and binge eating are all signs of a person that is in diet denial. If you're a serial dieter with no results, you may be in diet denial.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Research your diet history. Starting a new diet every other week is a sign of diet denial. If your diets last only a few weeks before you get discouraged and stop, you need to reevaluate your diet plan.
2. Monitor your reactions. Acting defensive and even argumentative if someone asks you if you're on a diet or if you have started yet another new diet may be a sign of diet denial. One reason that you may be defensive is that starting new diets frequently may indicate indecisiveness. You don't want to be perceived as someone who is unable to make a decision.
3. Double-check your excuses. Denying that there has been a weight gain will not help you diet any better and is a sign of diet denial. If you feel that a slow metabolism may be at fault, consider adding foods that increase your metabolic rate to your diet. Don't just blame the weight gain on your metabolic rate and do nothing.
4. Watch out for splurging sessions. You may think that because you're on a diet or "cutting back", you're allowed to splurge on occasion. You may wind up eating way more than you need or is necessary.
5. Evaluate your gym habits. Working out at the gym too often during the week can be a sign of diet denial. Try not to work out just to feel like you can eat anything you want and not worry about calorie counting.

Tips & Warnings

• Never start a diet on a Monday. This almost always leads to failure before the week is over. Try starting a diet on a Thursday or even a Saturday.