For anyone who hasn’t suddenly had to give up food, consider yourself lucky. Millions of Americans struggle with their diet. From eliminating certain foods to going for healthier alternatives, changes in our diet are hard. Food affects how we feel, it’s a comfort for us all, and to suddenly have to eliminate things that make us feel good and taste delicious is beyond challenging.

And yet, making the proper dietary changes is essential to weight loss. Our medical team has some advice for how you can push through your diet changes, because we know how important it can be. From fasting programs to other medical weight loss options, work with Pierce Medical Clinic — you might finally be able to get the results you’re looking for.

Set up the environment.

Sometimes even just having things on hand can be what sets you off course. From your favorite candies to your favorite bag of chips, it’s nearly impossible to stay on track when you have the things you’re trying to avoid right there in front of you. When you’re ready to start losing weight and really see results, you’re going to need to set up an environment that’s conducive to your goals. Buy things that are healthy or work with your diet plan, and get rid of the things that aren’t — instead of throwing them out, if they’re unopened, consider taking them to a food pantry or bringing foodstuffs to the office for coworkers to enjoy. It’ll be much harder to cheat on your diet when you don’t have your guilty pleasures around.

Don’t delay.

Often, our medical weight loss team hears people saying “I’ll start my diet after the holidays” or “I’ll start my diet next week.” It can be so easy to put it off, especially when we know there’s amazing food opportunities around the corner. But the longer you put off your diet, the harder it will be to start it up. And especially if you’re going on a weeks-long or month-long diet, it will end sooner if you start it sooner. Trust us when we say your future self will thank you for starting when you did.

Plus, you’ll have more willpower than you realize. It will be a challenge, you might even feel terrible at times, knowing that everyone gets to enjoy these things that you don’t. But this is you working towards your health and your success. You can’t do this for anyone else except for you, and it’s better to start sooner rather than later.

Be held accountable.

Tell loved ones what’s going on, let coworkers know that if they could hold off on telling you about delicious foods that come to the office — whatever you need to do to make it a little easier, do it!

That being said, there’s nothing easy about accountability. When you work with our medical weight loss team, you’ll absolutely struggle with being held accountable — but your health and your goals will truly become the first priority. It can seem so difficult when people are telling you what to do and what you can/cannot eat. Who made them the boss, anyways? But everyone who’s holding you accountable is truly trying to help you out, and are there for you because they care. That’s the number one thing to remember when it comes to weight loss and your diet: people are there because they care for you.

Recognize the mental battle.

One of the biggest components of losing weight and changing your diet is not the physicality of it — if anything, you’ll likely start to feel better after a couple of days. It’s having to mentally push through, and changing some of your mindsets about food. Those aforementioned chips might seem like they make you feel better after a tough day, but truly, they’re not helping. That delicious brownie and ice cream sundae seems like it’s a great way to treat yourself, but it’s going to lead to a sugar crash or feelings of sluggishness later.

Changing attitudes about food and telling yourself you can do this is going to be the toughest piece. Don’t stop telling yourself the things you need to hear — eventually, they’ll become second nature.

Stick with it!

Everything is temporary. You feeling frustrated by food, you still crave those divine donuts from down the street — even these things will pass if you just stick with your diet. We guarantee that once you really stick with your diet for awhile, it will not become nearly as challenging as it once was. Plus, you’ll love the results that you’re seeing, as well as how you’re feeling as a whole, and this will serve as an amazing form of motivation. You just have to get to that place of motivation first.

Don’t deny yourself constantly.

A lot of professionals with experience in medical weight loss agree that having a cheat meal or moment every now and then can actually be a good thing. Granted, this advice should be taken with a grain of salt. If you’re on a very specific diet, such as one that lasts for a finite amount of time, it’s best to stick with the plan as is and not cheat. Similarly, if your doctor has told you to give up ______ for very specific health reasons, you shouldn’t cheat on that, either. But if you’re in for the long haul when it comes to weight loss, it’s for the best that you don’t deny yourself everything, all the time. This simply isn’t sustainable, and when you have a cheat meal once a week, you’ll appreciate it so much more.

With Pierce Medical Clinic by your side, you can receive the accountability you’ve been looking for, as long as the medical weight loss solutions that have been proven to work. We are committed to your health and happiness with your body, and have been serving the Kansas City and Overland Park communities for years with this same sentiment. Contact Pierce Medical Clinic to get started today.