Starting a diet? Wait until Monday

Considered the procrastination King by many. Converted into a Joke by others. The statement is simple:

“I’ll start the diet on Monday.”

Why not today? Why not tomorrow?

Its poor reputation has nothing to do with when you want to start. But it comes from these reasons:

1. Monday comes, and you don’t start it
2. You honor your word and start it, but you also end it on Thursday.

If your decision is genuine, let me tell you that I support giving yourself some days before you take this big step.

Procrastination

We can’t deny the truth. It is procrastination, at best. Or an excuse, at worst.

But there is nothing wrong with procrastinating. We all do it and will always do it. In some fields more often than others.

So, the trick is to convert that time gap between the decision and the action into something useful.

In this case, we will use this time to outline and prepare our journey.

Why not Tomorrow

If you are one of the Monday-To-Thursday dieters, then it is clear that it’s not natural for you. So, don’t treat it as if it were. Understand that this is a habit that you need to work harder on.

The key to any long-term activity is to make it in the way that best fits your routine, tastes, and interests.

You can’t force your habit through resilience or temporary motivation. It won’t last. You have to enjoy it.

Setting Monday as the starting date will help you plan.

You will use the weekend to:

• Define goals, metrics, and diet type
• Get rid of the food you have at home and want to avoid
• Buy the new food and pre-cook some of it if required

A plan template

And here we are. So, to avoid converting this decision into a joke, you need to take action. This is a basic template you can use as an example for planning your diet.

Step 1 - Define your goals, metrics, and diet type

Keep it simple:

• I want to lose 10 pounds.
• I’ll do it by avoiding processed food and walking. I can make some exceptions 4 times per month.
• I’ll measure the process on how much processed food I consume and the daily km I walk. And my weight will be my results measure.

Step 2 - Get rid of the food you have at home and want to avoid

Eat or donate the processed food you have at home.

If you don’t have it, you won’t feel the temptation.

Step 3 - Buy and prepare the new food and your meals

What are you going to eat instead of your old processed food? Define your meals, go to the market, and prepare whatever you can in advance to make your life and decisions easier.

When you come home tired from work, and your desire to order food rises, you will have your half-prepared meal or the ingredients in the fridge. You have no choice other than to eat them while they are fresh.

These steps will take a few days. When Monday comes, you will have everything prepared and know what to do.

You will adjust your new habit permanently, but you need a starting point.

That’s it

This is a smart way to transform procrastination into useful action.

Starting your diet without a plan will make it harder to stick to it.

And remember. There is no harm in starting your diet on Monday. The only problem is leaving it on Thursday.