You may often hear your friends say they’re going to stick to their diet this time, but the reality is that people often fall off the wagon fairly early into their weight loss journeys. It’s not uncommon for people who have just started a diet to feel hungry between meals or feel like they’re not reaching their goals as soon as they had expected.

This often leads to people feeling like they want to give up or at least have a few more cheat meals than they should. If you know why people often don’t stick to diets, though, then you can find ways of circumventing the problems. Here are reasons why people don’t always stick to diets and the four ways to make your healthy lifestyle changes stick.

You Don’t Have the Right Supplements to Round Out Your Diet

Oftentimes, while diets mean cutting things out of your regular eating schedule, it results in people using products and foods that aren’t up to par with what they’re dietary needs have to be. According to Xyngular, you need products and meal plans that are realistic. When you’re not getting the right nutrients, working out and even simple daily activities can be more difficult. Your body needs nutrients to build muscle, get you through a workout, and combat stress.

When you don’t get enough nutrients, you’ll likely find yourself feeling lethargic or stressed out, which can lead you to eat unhealthy food in an attempt to make yourself feel better. However, you need to remember that healing and nutrition needs to happen on the cellular level if you want to feel your best. Recovering from toxin buildup can take time and effort. As ASEA points out, “As we age and as our bodies are exposed to toxins and environmental stress, cellular function diminishes, and with it, our health and quality of life. This decline also affects the body’s ability to produce and maintain a proper balance of redox signaling molecules.” If you want to feel in tip-top shape for the next time you hit the gym, make sure you’re feeding your body with the supplements you might not get enough of. 

You Don’t Have Realistic Meal Plans

There are a couple of mistakes that people often make during meal planning when they go on a diet. One of the biggest mistakes is that they don’t make any sort of meal plan at all. Winging it can leave you vulnerable to making impulse decisions when you’re hungry at work or running errands. Another common mistake is not having enough in your meal plan to keep you full and satisfied. This can also lead to poor or emotional eating decisions. MommyPotamus suggests that you stick to a schedule that works for you, and have a shopping list always on hand with foods that are approved by you.

You Don’t Exercise

Exercise is part of a healthy diet. When you hit a plateau, a healthy exercise plan can help get you over it. Exercise also releases endorphins that make you feel good, making you less likely to look to the piece of chocolate cake for comfort when life gets stressful. You need to start committing to a routine, even if it starts small. According to Mayo Clinic, you should begin by assessing your fitness level and start from there on out. Try running a mile or two every weekend, consistently, and see how you can improve the plan when you reach a level of ease running a mile.

You Don’t Have Support

Having people around you who are supportive of your decision to make healthy changes to your lifestyle is key in actually making it work. Surround yourself with people who care about your health and provide encouragement (or even better, healthy recipes!).

Many people fall off the dieting wagon, but a lot of people succeed in making lifestyle changes. If you work at it and have a plan, you can be one of those success stories.