For your diet to succeed, keep it as simple as possible. According to researchers:
For people on a more complex diet that involves keeping track of quantities and items eaten, their subjective impression of the difficulty of the diet can lead them to give up on it," reported Peter Todd, professor in IU's Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences.
Jutta Mata, now a professor of psychology at Stanford University, said this effect holds even after controlling for the influence of important social-cognitive factors including self-efficacy, the belief that one is capable of achieving a goal like sticking to a diet regimen to control one's weight.
"Even if you believe you can succeed, thinking that the diet is cognitively complex can undermine your efforts," she said.(Source: BoingBoing)
I found even the P90X Nutrition Plan (which ain't exactly rocket science) to be too difficult to follow, so I made up my own rules. There are five of 'em:
- Eat small, frequent meals each day -- slowly.
- Eat more protein and vegetables.
- Earn your carbs: Eat them only after working out.
- Be mindful of portion sizes.
- If you're going to make an exception to your diet, make sure the food/experience is worth it.
