Why You Should Kick Start a Diet on a Monday

Choosing to kick start a diet is as much about timing as it is about motivation. Starting a diet at the wrong time can affect your level of motivation or make it easier for you to get distracted from your ultimate goal. For most people, a Monday is a perfect time to start a diet.

The Psychological Impact of Monday

To most people, Monday is the start of a work week, a school week or an otherwise busy period. Although Sunday is technically the first day of a week, most people choose to relax and unwind on Sundays. Choosing to kick start a diet on a day when you usually unwind from a busy week can make you feel like you're punishing, not rewarding, yourself. A diet should never feel like a punishment.

Starting the diet on the first day of your typical work week can make the transition easier. As you return to the challenges the new week will bring, you can look at your new diet as just one more challenge you can handle this week.

Eating During the Week

People who are busiest during the typical work week may eat differently during the weekend. Choosing to kick start a diet on a weekend can make it difficult for you to get used to the diet because you're more likely to indulge in unhealthy foods. On Mondays, you can pack your lunch ahead of time and bring it to work. Because you'll be occupied with work, you're less likely to dwell on the new items you're eating for lunch.

Preparing on Sundays

Choosing to kick start a diet on Monday over another day in your work week has the additional benefit of allowing you time on Sunday afternoon and evening to prepare. You can fix your Monday breakfast and lunch ahead of time and psych yourself up for the new change in your life. You can also sit down and plan out your meals for the entire week and start a grocery list of what you'll need for each meal. If possible, go grocery shopping on Sunday as well. Planning your meals ahead of time makes it less stressful to shop and cook throughout the week. If you're less stressed, you're less likely to give into the temptation to go off of your diet.

Why Motivation is so Important

Because choosing to kick start a diet on a Monday can help you stay more motivated, you're more likely to have successful results. Slipping up on your diet and choosing to eat something you shouldn't, even just once, can make it more difficult for you to return to your diet. If you're starting your diet at the same time you start the new work week, you're less likely to slip up. After a full work week of staying on your new diet, it will be easier for you to continue sticking to the diet during your days off.

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