{"id":1810,"date":"2025-09-03T11:58:41","date_gmt":"2025-09-03T09:58:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celeste.hr\/how-not-to-give-up-on-a-diet-advice-from-a-psychologist\/"},"modified":"2025-09-03T11:58:41","modified_gmt":"2025-09-03T09:58:41","slug":"how-not-to-give-up-on-a-diet-advice-from-a-psychologist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celeste.hr\/en\/how-not-to-give-up-on-a-diet-advice-from-a-psychologist\/","title":{"rendered":"How not to give up on a diet: Advice from a psychologist"},"content":{"rendered":"

Author: Gordan Malekovi\u0107, MD, coach, psychotherapist<\/em><\/p>\n

The question of how to stick to a diet<\/strong> is one of the most common ones I hear in my practice. A client recently told me, \u201cEverything is going well until a stressful week comes. Then I eat everything I can find and feel like I\u2019ve ruined everything.\u201d This is where a vicious circle begins.<\/strong> Instead of getting back on track right away, he decides to \u201cstart on Monday.\u201d That Monday is sometimes delayed for two or three weeks, and in the meantime, more weight and guilt accumulate. A study published in the journal Obesity<\/em> found that delaying getting back on track<\/strong> can lead to an average weight gain of 0.5 to 1 kilogram per month. A year of waiting is 12 kilograms. That\u2019s a very tangible price to pay for waiting, and another reason why it\u2019s better to move on immediately after a \u201cmistake.\u201d <\/p>\n

Realistic expectations in dieting<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Big goals also bring great frustration.<\/strong> A client who wanted to lose 10 pounds in a month gave up after two weeks because \u201cit wasn\u2019t fast enough.\u201d When we changed the goal to 2 pounds per month, he lost 15 pounds in six months and learned to eat differently. A British study shows that it is these slower goals that create long-term stability, because the body has time to adapt and accept the new routine as normal. It is a psychological security that the scale doesn\u2019t measure, but the body feels. <\/p>\n

How to not give up on a diet in practice?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The key is not to wait for Monday.<\/strong> If you eat something \u201coff plan,\u201d continue immediately with the next meal. One client said, \u201cIt used to take me a week to get back on track, but now I\u2019m back on track for dinner the same day and the difference is huge.\u201d It\u2019s also a psychological trick. You\u2019re showing yourself that one misstep isn\u2019t the end, it\u2019s just a moment. Research shows that people who stick to their plan immediately reduce their risk of regaining weight by 50%<\/strong> compared to those who put off their \u201cfresh start.\u201d Writing \u201cwhy\u201d on the fridge, planning meals, and reaching out to a supportive friend all increase your chances of success. <\/p>\n

Professional and emotional support<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The biggest challenge is not starting a diet, but staying on it when life gets complicated.<\/strong> That’s when professional support makes the difference because it provides structure and security at the same time. At Celeste Balance,<\/a> we follow clients through setbacks, because we know that they are an integral part of the process. A 2021 meta-analysis showed that programs that include community or expert support have twice the long-term success rates of independent attempts: MDPI – Long-term weight loss maintenance<\/a> . This means that success is not only about discipline, but about the right combination of structure and support.<\/strong> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Author: Gordan Malekovi\u0107, MD, coach, psychotherapist The question of how to stick to a diet is one of the most common ones I hear in my practice. A client recently told me, \u201cEverything is going well until a stressful week comes. Then I eat everything I can find and feel like I\u2019ve ruined everything.\u201d This […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1809,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1810","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-coaching"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celeste.hr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1810","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celeste.hr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celeste.hr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celeste.hr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celeste.hr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1810"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/celeste.hr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1810\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celeste.hr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1809"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celeste.hr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1810"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celeste.hr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1810"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celeste.hr\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1810"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}