The Four Day Diet: Lessons Learned

[Jill has been dabbling in the 4 Day Diet and sharing her journey with us. We saw her first week and the challenges she faced on week 2.  She faced some challenges in week 3 and now she's finally dunzo. And happy about it.]

By Jill

So I finished the month.

And while I think the 4-Day Diet has its positives and is a great eating plan for people new to the health/weight loss game, I realized why I don’t succeed on programs like this:

I become obsessed with food.

I stare at my food list 12 times a day and spend the rest of my time constantly thinking about my next meal or snack. Result: I think I’m hungry (always) when I’m not. And that’s not the best feeling when you are trying to lose a few pounds, eh?

The thing is, I know how to eat healthy and I know what I should and shouldn’t be doing. I personally did not need someone to tell me what kinds of foods are good for me and what are not. I just needed to stop eating the crap I knew was bad.

And this program definitely helped with that. What it did do was remind me that the little things I eat add up big time. A few bites here and there add up to a few pounds here and there and, before you know it, I’m breaking a serious sweat squatting and lunging my way into my jeans.

I also learned that I eat often out of boredom or stress, something I know most of you can relate to. So this month I learned how to combat my fake hunger. When I get a craving or think I’m hungry, I envision eating a healthy meal (like carrots and bell peppers). If that sounds good to me then I know I’m truly hungry. If all I want is a McFlurry, then I know hunger is not the real issue (and PMS/boy trouble/an addiction to M&Ms is). It’s a great tip and it will keep you from giving in too quickly to the temptations in the dorm cafeteria, at work, or at the lib.

Overall, I’m happy I gave the 4 Day Diet a try – I learned some new tips and tricks to keeping healthy and, more importantly, learned more about myself. I also learned that when a diet tells you that pizza is OK, eating an entire pizza is not.

Just a thought.