This makes me smile because I used to do exactly the same.  I would be looking through the cupboard or the fridge for something to snack on even though I wasn’t hungry.  I told myself that it was ok, because I was going to do this just one last time and then I’ll get right back on track!

What rubbish!! If you are telling yourself this, then once again you’re kidding yourself.

When it comes to being slim tomorrow never comes

If you want to be slim it starts now, not tomorrow or worse still Monday!

The most successful dieters I know didn’t start their diet on a Monday.

To understand the reasons why you find yourself zombie like in front of the food cupboard or fridge then see Chapter 3 – Mind of a Dieter in the Toolkit.

Posted by Dawn. Read Dawn’s story

Many dieters avoid mirrors because they only see the things they don’t like.

It basically works like this:

1. Our brain tells us what it wants us to pay attention to and deal with

2. We look in the mirror and we see wobbly bits

3. We say “arrrghhhh” or something similar

4. We get annoyed, upset and perhaps motivated to go on a diet

5. We fail another diet because this type of motivation guarantees failure

6. We look back in the mirror, get upset and eat to comfort ourselves

7. Go back to number 1.

If you have joined in one of the free guided sessions or have got the toolkit you will know that this sort of motivation does not work. But that’s not how your brain sees it. It is only trying to help.

Mirrors are what we use to motivate us or see how we are doing but remember we see with our brains and not with our eyes and our brains can easily distort what is really there and can easily lead us in the wrong direction.

Do you want to know why?

There are two main reasons:

1. A different set of things going on around you – We respond differently to the different things in our life and the changes in environment can make us behave very differently. So you have one way of behaving at the office but, because different things are going on at home, you react differently too.

2. A different set of rules that you use – We have lots of rules we use to help us know what to do in different situations. Sometimes we simply switch on a different set of rules even when the things going on around us are the same. So on Friday it’s okay to eat a take away or have a cream cake in the office but Thursday’s rules say that’s a no no.

The weekday /weekend dieting rule is often blamed on the fact that at the weekend things are so different from the structure of the week, but is that really the case?

I have worked with people who find it easier to diet at the weekend and harder during the week.

There are no hard and fast rules, just the ones you believe are there. Just think for a moment and wonder why you allow yourself to change your behaviour.

Here’s a short audio to help you understand more:

Emergency Breakdown Help: Why do I crash off my diet at the weekend?

It would seem reasonable to get some support and who better than a friend or a relative who is in a similar position to you? Wrong.

The trouble is they won’t be in a similar position. They will have different reasons why they over eat and they will get different results from doing exactly the same diet as you. No one will get the same results even if they do exactly the same thing and that is where the problems usually start.

The differences in success can create all sorts of issues between people.

Sometimes the more successful dieter feels guilty and sabotages themselves so their friend does not feel bad. Other times the less successful dieter feels bad and tries to sabotage their friend! Sometimes it can even turn into a race but of course only one person can win a race.

All successful dieters do it just for themselves and if you are in competition with someone else, or care about someone else’s results, then you are no longer doing it just for you.

But lastly, friends are generally too kind to each other and will let each other off the hook which means they are let off the hook in return if things are not going well. Does this sound like most diet clubs too?