10 Ways to STOP You From Cheating on Your Diet

By: Bethany Barich (Follow on Instagram & Twitter)

We’ve all been there. You begin to start a diet, you're actually staying on track with it, and then all of a sudden temptation strikes. You’re craving junk food, sweets, sugar, and all that’s not the healthiest for you. You cave in and cheat.

These top 10 tips will help you from cheating on your diet again:

1. Toss the temptations

First and foremost, get rid of triggers! If you have any type of food in your cupboards or refrigerator, remove them immediately! Getting rid of these triggers will help curb the craving for them later on. To help kill the craving you may get, try replacing all the unhealthy temptations will healthy options – for example, replace frozen raspberries or blackberries for ice cream.

2. Brush your teeth

You know the taste you get when you eat right after you’ve brushed? It’s not good, so use that to help control cravings! Late night snacks are a major temptation for people who diet, so after dinner brush your teeth to avoid any unhealthy snacking later on! If you feel you could be tempted at work, take some travel size products with you to keep those cravings under control.

3. Plan ahead

If you’re bored with nothing to do on a Sunday afternoon, write down a plan for the week. When will you get up? What will you have to eat for all three meals? Any snacks? Any exercising you’ll be doing that week, mark it down. This way, you’ll be following a set schedule and temptation may not have time to creep in.

 4. Meal prep

Tying in with #3, meal prepping is a very effective way to not cheat on your diet. Along with planning what foods you’ll eat, set aside some time to go out and buy those healthy foods and snacks and then come home and prepare as much as you can for the upcoming week. Not only is this saving you money in the long run but also it’s saving you from having an unhealthy lunch at school or work. 

5. Write it down

If you’re still struggling with your diet in terms of not losing weight and not knowing why, start a food journal. In it, write down all your meals and your snacks and if you’ve done any exercising that day. After a while, you’ll begin to notice where you may be lacking and figure out how you can improve it.

6. Try new foods and recipes

One thing that can become boring about being on a diet is the repetitiveness of the foods you’re eating. To avoid getting fed up with the same old foods and going back to unhealthy snacking and eating, spice up the recipes you’re using! There are many healthy options all you need to do is search for them.

7. Be aware

Do you find yourself cheating on your diet during those angry or stressful times? Being aware that you’re an emotional eater can help you avoid cheating on your diet. Whenever you feel the urge to grab an unhealthy snack, go for the better option. Personally, when I feel stressed I go for chocolate, but I normally don’t have any, so instead, I try to find a fruit to munch on like grapefruit or an apple with peanut butter so I satisfy my sweet craving.

8. Don’t mindlessly munch

If there’s one place we all fall prey to it’s in front of our laptops or our televisions. You never know how much you’ve really eaten until you get up, or you go for another chip only to see you’ve eaten the entire bag. If you’re going to snack while indulging in technology, plan a snack out, when it’s finished then that’s it. No more snacks. This will not only help control your snacking, but you’ll also begin to slowly eat your food and enjoy each bite.

9. Portion control

When you’re doing those meal preps, make sure you’re following proper portions. If you want to have a snack, make sure you portion it out. Moderation is key and I cannot stress that enough.

10. Love yourself

Changing your lifestyle isn’t going to be easy, but if you’re continuously beating yourself up you won’t make any progress. Slip-ups will happen. We’re human and it’s unavoidable, so whenever you do cheat, do not beat yourself. 

No matter what happens, whether you cheat or not, these tips are sure to help!