How do you know what will be sustainable?

[Gina]

Everyone always says that the best diet for you is what is sustainable and what you'll be able to do for years to come. How do I know what diet that is if I've never tried it? Obviously I know something extreme is out of the question, but I don't know how to tell if I'll be able to do something for the long term without trying it. Is there a way around failure?

[antoniojones1968]

I think a lot of it is trial and error. Try to look at a strategy as realistically as possible to think of whether it would be something you're likely to do overall...then just give it a try and work it into your life for a while. Challenge yoruself to 28 days. If you mess up, just acknowledge that and try again. Then, see if you can get it to stick.

[Tiff]

IMO, discovering what will be sustainable takes some consideration of what you really genuinely think you'll be able to change and stick to over time. That said, it also takes some trial and error. Until you try it, you really won't know what you will stick to. Some things appear very simple and straightforward and turn out to be awkward or just don't stick for some mysterious reason. Other things seem more challenging but just seem to come together and stay with you for whatever magical reason that is. You can guess until a certain point, but after that, you just need to give it a try and keep your mind open. Remember that if it doesn't stick, it's not a failure. You've just learned a bit more about what will or will not work for you.

[kellykatt]

You can guess to a certain extent based on what you know you will do, but yeah, when it all comes down to it, it's about testing it out. You might be surprised at what you'll want to stick to.