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You are here: Home / Diet & Fat Loss / How to Change Your Life by Changing How You Eat

How to Change Your Life by Changing How You Eat

May 21, 2012 By Michael Mahony, ISSA CPT 1 Comment

Change How You Eat

It is possible to change your life by changing how you eat. While the focus of this blog has changed to be more about the bodybuilding lifestyle, I want everyone to be able to get something out of what I write about, so today I want to focus on general fitness and how you can improve that by changing how you eat.

Why Diets Fail

Most diets are doomed to failure before they begin. This is because people make a huge and drastic change to how they eat. It puts them in a position where they cannot possibly maintain the program they put themselves on. Most of us do not have strong enough will power when it comes to food to go cold turkey. Attempting to do so puts us at risk mentally. Instead of making things better it will actually make things worse.

Positive Change That Sticks

Let's assume that since you are reading this  you feel you need to change your eating to change your life. That probably means that more often than not you eat garbage. You eat too much junk food, too much fatty foods and too much at one time. You want to lose the fat and you don't know where to start. You just read above that making a drastic change will set you up for failure. What should you do? Make one small positive change that sticks with you for the long term. Start by eating 5 meals a day, but make them small meals. Allow yourself to eat “bad” one of those meals each day. If you do just that one small thing you will be 80% compliant to a clean meal plan.

Is 80% Enough to Make Changes?

I get asked this question all the time by clients who I make this suggestion to. The answer is simple: yes! By being 80% compliant, you are 80% better off than you were before. That's the part most people miss. There is no need to go crazy and aim for 100% compliance (unless you are looking to compete and that's an entirely different story). Make the small improvements that are going to allow you to see positive changes almost immediately.

Don't Beat Yourself Up for Slipping Up

We all make mistakes, especially when it comes to eating and training. Don't beat yourself up for it. Accept the fact that you are human. Make a vow to do better going forward. It isn't going to kill you if you have one extra cheat meal every so often. Just don't make it a major habit and you will be fine.

If you have any tips for people on how to stay compliant with a change in eating, leave them in the comments below.

Related Posts:

  • Meal Timing Debate
  • Eat for Fuel
  • Is It All Worth It?
  • Eating for Fat Loss and Muscle Gain
  • The Easy Way to Count Calories

Filed Under: Diet & Fat Loss, Featured

About Michael Mahony, ISSA CPT

Mike is a passionate bodybuilder, NPC Competitor and ISSA Certified Personal Trainer who is always looking for ways to do things better. He also has a passion for correcting the misinformation that is prevalent in the bodybuilding and fitness industry today. Mike is currently working on his first eBook, Get Back to Lifting, which is scheduled to be released soon. He is also working on a second book, The Average Guy's Supplement Guide, that is scheduled to be released the end of 2016.

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