Penalties for deviating from a diet - why is this a bad thing?

Penalties for deviating from a diet. All or nothing

Many people at the beginning of their adventure with healthy eating and losing weight are extremely meticulous about the diet they follow. Sticking to the time of meals, regular physical activity, keeping hydrated and precisely counting calories consumed - only with the right discipline is there a chance to achieve the desired results and change previous eating habits. Nobody has ever claimed that it is easy. Willpower and self-denial play an extremely important role here.

At some point, a rigorous approach to your diet can start to override common sense. Obsessive thinking about your diet is not good for your body. Exaggerated focus and excessive analysis of the possibility of eating something different from the current diet plan can lead to a number of problems, e.g. social withdrawal, excessive stress, feelings of discomfort as well as reduced well-being.

It must not be forgotten that we are only human and eating is a pleasure. Deviating from a diet should not be met with punishment. An occasional cheat meal in the form of an evening dinner out with friends, a home-cooked dinner when visiting family or a favourite dessert after a tiring week will certainly not destroy the results achieved so far. It is important to remember that the diet is for us, and we are not for the diet - otherwise we become a slave to our own habits, which, despite good intentions, turn out to be as destructive as unhealthy eating habits.

Penalties for deviating from a diet. The 80/20 rule - a recipe for success?

An increasing number of dieticians and healthy eating experts point out that the best results come from an 80/20 diet. What does this mean? As you can easily guess, it refers to the percentage of involvement in the diet:

• 80% of the time we try to eat healthy, balanced and wholesome meals
• 20% of the time can be spent on "sinful" delights with a clear conscience

The above principle may be applied according to individual needs and may apply to, for example, an entire month. However, it is worth remembering that the above-mentioned delights should be appropriately dosed and should not be consumed on a daily basis. Thanks to this system it will be much easier to find oneself in a situation involving a date, a wedding or a family meeting.

What makes the 80/20 rule effective? First of all, the lack of restraint and self-imposed limitations. Many people point out that practicing this way of eating makes you forget about "being on a diet". - There could hardly be better proof of the effectiveness of this method in learning a new eating model.