Diet fatigue

Deko72

hi is diet fatigue common and how to combat it?
cheers Derek.

AnnPT77

Probably common.

How to combat? IMO, the big thing is not to make your plan any more difficult than it needs to be to reach your goals.

I'm going to give a cartoon-extreme example, and assume that the goal is weight loss because that's a common goal around here.

Surprisingly many people seem to arrive here with a "lose weight fast" and "faster is better" mentality.

A scenario we see is people choosing an aggressive weight loss rate so they get a very low calorie budget, then trying to reach that calorie level with very strict, very restrictive eating rules: No fast/junk foods, eat only so-called superfoods, maybe follow some trendy named diet that's a giant change from what they usually do, never eat treats, skip social events because of calorie fear, etc.

Sometimes, on top of that, people add a plan for punitively intense, miserable daily exercise.

Those plans don't seem to end well, but they do often end quickly.

An alternative is to set a sensibly moderate weight loss rate, figure out how to reach that calorie level eating foods we enjoy and staying reasonably full most of the time, then tuning up nutrition if we see some important things falling short. We can focus on changing our routine day-in, day-out habits gradually and manageably, in a series of positive steps, rather trying to perfect everything all at once.

If fitness improvement is also a goal, then it makes sense to gradually increase activity - considering daily life stuff not just formal exercise - and look for fun ways of moving more that are manageably challenging, not miserable and exhausting. For example, games involving movement - video games, VR games, frisbee, pickleball, whatever - can be more fun that some gym-y thing we find tedious and grim. Just going for a nice walk is great. Any exercise/activity we actually do often because we like it is 100% more beneficial than a theoretically perfect exercise we hate so procrastinate, skip or give up with the slightest excuse.

Aggressive, everything perfect all at once: That's one mindset. Gradually a little better on average over time, focusing on routine habits: That's a completely different mindset.

I think one of those mindsets is easier than the other, less likely to trigger diet fatigue, and more likely to achieve good long-term success. Just my opinion, though . . . speaking as a woman who was overweight/obese for around 30 years, lost 50 pounds in just under a year, and has maintained a healthy weight (and higher than average fitness for my demographic) for 9 years since.

Everyone isn't like me, and the same things don't work for everyone. If you're struggling, I think you can figure out what works best for you. Don't believe everything you read in the blogosphere; try things and see what helps you personally.

Wishing you success: IME the quality of life improvement is worth the effort it takes to get there!