5 Steps For Overcoming Your Diet Weaknesses

Weaknesses are an inevitability of life. We all have them, and they are something that each and every one of us has to deal with. Not to sugarcoat it; overcoming weaknesses is hard and largely it sucks… that is until you actually overcome. Like with physical strength; if you are weak - moving something heavy will be difficult. We overcome those weaknesses by strengthening the muscles necessary to move said object.

Weaknesses can become exceptionally crippling to our overall fitness goals when they exist in the area of our diets. Nothing will ruin a good week of dieting like stumbling down the pastry aisle and binge-feeding on cream-filled donuts. It is ridiculous how quickly we can go from weight loss progress to digression in the course of one wrong turn in the grocery store. But, that’s how it is when you are battling weaknesses in our diets.

So then, how do you overcome our weaknesses? I have identified 5 steps that we can all engage in to put our weaknesses behind us. I will share them with you here.

1. Strengthen your desire for the alternative

The first thing you want to do is develop and strengthen your desire for a lifestyle alternative to the one in which your weakness prevails. Remember, you overcome a weakness by developing the muscle necessary to do the lift or move the object. This new alternative to our current lifestyle will be that muscle. We overcome weakness with strength. When we have a lagging muscle; we work out that muscle so that it can become stronger. This is how we have to overcome our dietary weaknesses, by developing our vision and desire for the new, weakness-free lifestyle.

It won’t necessarily be easy; and there is no way around it, at some point you will have to WORK IT OUT! What you are trying to achieve is a lifestyle alternative to the one you have been living. Your desire for THAT life has to be strengthened, making the desire for the current life weaker. The reason you can’t give up the foods that you know are unhealthy for you right now is because your desire for this current lifestyle is still stronger than your desire for the newer, healthier life. You have to do everything within your power to continue motivating yourself to want the newer healthier life.

One of the best ways to do this is to continually feed yourself with images and examples of what the newer, healthier you will be like. Continue to watch and listen to things that will motivate you to want the newer healthier version of you. Continually remind yourself of the ways in which the current lifestyle makes you unhappy and what it is about that lifestyle that makes you want to change.

2. Practice/Modeling

The second thing you want to do is start practicing and modeling your new lifestyle. It would be wonderful if we could just “Thanos snap” our fingers, wipe out our negative desires and have our dietary preferences fall into alignment. Unfortunately, what really needs to happen is that you will have to do your “reps” in the kitchen, in the grocery store and in restaurants. Take it day-by-day, practicing and rehearsing making the choices you want to make. You THINK you can’t turn down a donut, but you can… you just won’t. So try it. Walk into a Dunkin’ and order just black coffee and leave. Trust me; you can do it. And… the more you do it; the stronger you get in that area until it just becomes the norm for you.

So practice these behaviors. Don’t wait until you want coffee to fight that fight against your weaknesses (in this case donuts). Make it a point to model the positive lifestyle choices. When you are feeling strong and motivated go to Dunkin’ (or wherever your struggle is), order your BLACK coffee; and leave without an unhealthy, cream-filled donut. Practice makes perfect, and you definitely want to practice before gametime.

3. Acknowledge You Are Abusing Yourself

The next thing you have to do is point out your abuser. Consider an abused woman. As long as she excuses her abusers behavior, she is apt to stay. But; the moment that she accepts that she is being abused; she is instantly strengthened into action. NOTHING at that point can quell her desire to escape her oppressor, even if doing so is a long, arduous and dangerous task. In the case of your dietary weaknesses you are both the abuser and the abusee. You are abusing yourself with food, and leaving yourself to deal with the physical effects of that abuse.

Recognize that, then escape your abuser. Look at YOURSELF in the mirror and tell YOURSELF that you aren’t going to take your abuse anymore. I do not mean that metaphorically; I honestly want you to look at yourself in the mirror and refuse to continue taking your abuse. Then… prove to yourself that you mean it!

4. Act On Your Threat To Yourself

Now that you have identified your abuser, it is time to act. Become vigilant! Become aggressive and FIGHT with all that you have to escape your old, unhealthy lifestyle; and embrace your new, healthier, weakness-free lifestyle. Think of yourself as ESCAPING. RUN FROM AND FIGHT your abuser. Be mean, be aggressive and be resolute. Refuse to take captivity as an answer!

Get out of that abusive relationship with your unhealthy lifestyle choices. Every time you come into contact with those unhealthy habits; FIGHT RIGHT THERE with it. It is easy to say that you are going to fight; but the actual fight happens when you are faced with the opportunity to give in to your unhealthy weaknesses. Remember, you are not weak anymore; you are STRONG now and you AREN’T going to continue suffering this cycle of abuse. You are STRONGER than that desire that you once identified as a weakness; so act on it and free yourself!

5. Remain Resolute

Once you strengthen yourself and overcome your weaknesses; you HAVE to remain ever-resolute. This is because if you become complacent there is a very real chance that your weakness will return. How many times have you overcome an unhealthy diet to start eating properly, only to give right back into it after 6, 7 or 8 months. Overcoming a weakness is not the same thing as vanquishing it. Like muscles that atrophy if not worked out; the strength you develop to overcome a dietary weakness can and will wane if not worked out. Continue to GROW and strengthen yourself in your new lifestyle, so that it remains stronger than your desire for the old weaknesses.

Find friends, books, movies and TV shows, etc that continue to actively promote your new, overcoming lifestyle. Surround yourself with people who help uphold your new lifestyle; and who inspire you to dig deeper into the new lifestyle choices. Use these new people and things to build a strong wall around the new you and keep the old weaknesses out of your life.

These 5 steps are the methods that I personally use to overcome the weaknesses I face in my own personal life; especially with my diet. I am confident that if you follow these steps you will also strengthen yourself mentally as well as physically; and overcome those dietary weaknesses that have been plaguing your fitness journey for years!