When Your Crash Diet Fails, Dietitians Recommend These 5 Eating Habits

By modifying your workout, what you eat and drink, and how you eat, going on a diet shakes up your regular routine. When it comes to crash diets, you're depriving your body of calories in order to lose weight quickly. Yes, you will lose weight faster. However, you're not providing your body with enough nutrients, resulting in an unfavorable outcome that could have long-term consequences.

We asked our Medical Expert Board about the dietary patterns they recommend for transitioning from a crash diet to a healthier lifestyle. Check out The #1 Unhealthiest Diet You Should Never Try, According to a Dietitian for more information.

1 Focus on the positive

Dieting relies heavily on your thinking, as you may feel as if you need to manipulate your mind into eating better. That is why it is critical to take a step back, take a deep breath, stay positive, and consider what things we can incorporate into our diet.

"We focus on deprivation so often when dieting," explains Lisa Young, PhD, RDN, author of Finally Full, Finally Slim & The Portion Teller Plan. "Instead, I recommend that consumers include healthful meals that are high in nutrients but low in calories, such as fruits, vegetables, legumes, and seafood."

2 Keep note of your meals.

"I advocate tracking your food intake in another method if you aren't mentally tired from the failure of your crash diet," advises Molly Hembree, MS, RD, LD. "Rather than tracking every portion, calorie, or macronutrient, keep a notebook (paper or digital) where you jot down the names of the items you eat and when you eat them."

When you write these things down, you'll notice that you're eating nutritious foods without feeling judged, which might be motivating. You may also see patterns in your eating habits. Different times of the day or different days of the week, for example, may be able to tell you what you were feeling at the time. Then you can reflect on what you wish to alter for the next day or week.

"This way of maintaining control while keeping focusing on healthy food can help you maintain control while avoiding the cycle of failure," Hembree explains.

3 Keep track of your portions.

Portion control allows you to consume your favorite foods in moderation throughout the day. This not only relieves the stress of avoiding bad meals, but it also prevents you from eating them all at once, especially if you've been avoiding them for a long time.

Young adds, "Rather than counting calories, choose healthful quantities." "You can eat your favorite grain, such as rice or pasta, but keep an eye on how much you eat. Dessert should be enjoyed, but it should be shared with your dinner companion."

4 Alter your fruit and vegetable consumption.

"With the exception of corn and potatoes, most Americans eat far too little fruit and vegetables," adds Hembree. "Ignore all other weight-loss approaches and focus solely on increasing your intake of fruits and vegetables."

Hembree recommends starting with one more vegetable serving each day. Add one more fruit serving per day a few days later. After a few weeks of doing so, see if you can add one extra serving of each fruit and vegetable.

"Fruits and vegetables have a high water and fiber content, as well as minimal calories (apart from avocados)," explains Hembree. "You'll be eating roughly three servings of fruits and veggies each day before you know it!"

5 Place everything on your platter.

"Staring at a half-empty plate is a dieter's worst nightmare," Young explains. This, coupled with attempting to fit your meal onto smaller dishes, is ineffective.According to research conducted by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, fooling the brain into eating less by providing food on a smaller plate does not always succeed. Instead, when people are hungry, they are more likely to appropriately estimate portion sizes, regardless of how they are served.

What's Young's secret? Half of the dish should be filled with fruits and vegetables.

"This trick makes you feel satiated instead of deprived," Young explains.