You’re eating the right lectin-free foods. You’re experiencing the delightful benefit of healthy weight loss. You’re committed to a healthy lifestyle and fighting off cravings left and right. But then one day, stress and temptation get the best of you. You drive to your grocery store and find ways to tank your progress. After you binge on lectin-rich foods, you might wonder how to get back on track with the diet.
Setbacks happen to everyone. Whether you’re counting calories each day or limiting unhealthy food full of lectins, a change to your lifestyle can be a real struggle. In a world where cravings and calories can upset healthy meals and workouts, can you get back on track with a healthy lectin-free diet before lectins get the best of you?
Read on to discover some great ways to get back on track with your lectin-free life after a binge. You can right unhealthy wrongs and continue to lose weight and experience the health benefits of kicking lectins to the curb if you commit and follow some healthy tricks and tips.
MAKE A MEAL PLAN AT THE BEGINNING OF THE WEEK (AND STICK TO IT)
Make Sunday meal prep day. If you choose one day, that works for your schedule, to prepare all of your meals for the week, you’ll find it easier to stay committed to your regimen.
Take the time when you’re not working to set up your meals for the week — then, even if you’re tired or super busy, you’ll be able to pull a healthy meal from the fridge or freezer and stick to your plan.
If you try to decide what you want to eat once you’re suddenly hungry, chances are you won’t make the healthiest choices.
Pre-planning your meals also allows for the greatest variety — you can decide what you’ll need to satisfy your cravings and diversify your menu.
INTERMITTENT FASTING MIGHT HELP YOU PRESS THE RESET BUTTON
If you’ve heard about intermittent fasting, you might be curious to know how it works.
Essentially, you limit the window of time during the day in which you let yourself eat. For instance, perhaps you wait to eat breakfast until the afternoon. And you make sure you’re done with dinner by 7 pm. That limits your hours of consumption to 7 hours each day leaving 17 non-eating hours.
Almost all studies on intermittent fasting have resulted in a degree of weight loss for participants ranging up to 9.9% of body weight and associated fat mass loss.1 Human trials point to beneficial effects when it comes to —
- Weight loss and maintenance
- Overall body composition
- Heart health
- Healthy aging2
Talk to your doctor if you’re interested in implementing intermittent fasting into your routine. They will be able to determine whether or not it will be a safe option for you and can help you get started.
BALANCE IS KEY TO A HEALTHY LECTIN-FREE DIET
One common trap dieters can fall into is a binge/starve pattern. If you are excited to lose weight, you might opt to fast for an entire day (or a couple of days).
But in depriving your body of the nutrients it needs, you’ll likely increase your chances of a binging on the foods you’re denying yourself when it becomes too much. Try to fill up on nutrient-dense foods.
Also, instead of saying you won’t eat any fat, shift your mindset to only eating healthy fats (like olive oil, avocado, and wild-caught salmon).3
Restricting yourself too much might result in overeating junk food when your motivation is weak. Balance is the key to a healthier diet.
And the same goes for your workout regimen. If you overdo your exercise during workouts, you’ll likely tire of pushing so hard. The result might be letting go of your workouts and exercise altogether — and that won’t be good in the long run.
It’s best to look for exercise activities you enjoy — that will keep you motivated to exercise regularly. Pick a lovely park or boardwalk to walk for 30 minutes a day. The people-watching or natural beauty alone should help keep your mind engaged as you exercise.
TRIGGER YOUR REWARD RESPONSE FOR A JOB WELL DONE (BUT NOT WITH FOOD)
One of the toughest challenges when dieting or cutting out certain foods like lectin foods can be reaching a goal and deciding it’s time for a reward to celebrate your job well done. Oftentimes, that can mean a pint of ice cream or a round of margaritas.
The truth is that you deserve a reward. But, do your best to make that reward something you don’t eat or drink. Rewarding yourself with junk food perpetuates an unhealthy pattern — placing value on junk food and equating it with a job well done.
Instead, try treating yourself to a new t-shirt or a spa appointment instead. You can also reward yourself with an extended lunch break in which you hit up your favorite yoga class, workout studio, or go for a nice long walk.
These types of rewards will motivate you to keep going instead of tanking your progress and encouraging defeat.
STRIVE FOR CONSISTENCY, NOT PERFECTION
Finally, the best thing you can do is eliminate the word “perfection” from your vocab when it comes to your diet. First of all, there’s no such thing. And second, if you don’t achieve perfection (which is truly impossible) you might sabotage your big-picture efforts.
Treat yourself with kindness. Encourage yourself. Be your own cheerleader at every meal and workout. And if you need help, ask your friends to cheer you on too.
In the end, a balanced diet that is not only diverse but is also engaging is your best bet. If you enjoy what you’re eating and can get into a routine with when you eat, you’ll likely keep at it for the long haul.
Sources
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5959807/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5959807/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6140086/
