This Is The Worst Day Of The Week To Start A Diet
"Diet starts Monday!" we've all said at some point, as we scooped our chips into steaming hot queso on a weekend evening out on the town. Indeed, Mondays are the best day to start a diet, so kudos to all of us! A study conducted by the University of Pennsylvania concluded that the first day of the work week offers the "fresh start" we all need to recommit to our health goals. "On certain days, called temporal landmarks, you just have a different view of yourself," study co-author Jason Riis, a visiting professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, told Today. "You become more forward looking." Other temporal landmarks include your birthday and New Year's Day.
But isn't any day you commit to starting a healthier way of life a good day? Sure. Unless that day happens to be Friday. That's because the weekend awaits! And between Friday night happy hours, Saturday parties, and Sunday brunches, we end up eating more calories than we do on the weekdays (per The Healthy).
You shouldn't start a diet if you're not ready to commit to a healthy lifestyle
Whether it's Monday, Friday, or any other days of the week, the worst time to start a diet is when you're not ready to see it through. Even though dieters statistically are more likely to succeed if they start on Mondays than Fridays, neither of these days will work if you're approaching weight loss for the wrong reasons. "Typically, the 'I'll get back on track on Monday principle' is a dangerous one. It indicates an all-or nothing-mentality, which can lead to unhealthy eating habits overall," dietitian Jaime Mass told Women's Health. "You'll also start to associate the weekend with yummy food and the weekdays with restriction."
If this sounds like you, consider that maybe now is not the best time to diet at all — even if you're overweight. "Some clients just aren't mentally or emotionally 'ready' to lose weight," Eliza Savage, a registered dietitian with Middleberg Nutrition, told SHAPE. "It's something that they need to have the motivation and drive to do." And that motivation just won't magically appear because it happens to be Monday.