Diet Trap: Perfectionism
You wouldn’t normally think of perfectionism as a threat to your diet, would you? Many people believe that
perfectionists, with their focus on doing everything perfectly, would be the best dieters, but there’s one problem that many dieters face, and perfectionists are especially vulnerable: When there’s a diet slip-up, perfectionists are likely to slide downhill and not recover, since their "perfect record" has been shot. (How often have you found yourself rationalizing, “Oh, why not, I’m already off my diet anyway!”)
Diet Tip: Think In Terms of Averages
While it’s easy to rationalize that one good cookie deserves another, you can save yourself from allowing one moment of weakness to wreck a whole diet by thinking in terms of averages rather than perfection: after falling short of your diet one day (or meal), you can make up for it with the next by eating extra-healthy. When you provide yourself with a route to redemption, a diet slip-up can actually work for you in terms of future motivation! (To see if you’re a perfectionist or not—or to what extent—take the
Perfectionism Quiz, and find tools for healthy change.)
