Which Day of the Week Should You Start a Diet?

Tell me why, I don’t like Mondays? Those famous lyrics penned by Bob Geldof, gave the Boomtown Rats a number 1 single during the summer of 1979. But what's so bad about Mondays? Could it be because it’s the start of the working week for millions of people? Or perhaps because it’s the day most favoured by dieters embarking on a new diet.

To many of us, dieting means deprivation, cutting back on, or going without the food we like. Not the best motivational reasons to get up on a Monday morning if you’re starting a diet. But according to a poll by Tesco Diets, those who begin their diet on a Sunday or Monday are likely to lose more weight than those who begin on any other day of the week.

It’s all down to the psychological factor. Somehow, putting off the start of a diet until Monday, can give us a psychological boost. As well as delaying the start day, allowing us a few precious days to eat what we want, Mondays can signal a new beginning. It’s a bit like New Year’s Eve where we get to wipe the slate clean and begin anew with fresh ambitions, goals, hopes and aspirations.

According to the poll, Tuesday is the worst day to start a diet. Apparently, if you start your diet on a Tuesday, you are more likely to give up by the end of the week and end up heavier to boot! Of the poll of 2,000 women, those who started their diet on a Sunday lost an average of 8lb over three weeks and 88 percent kept the weight off.

Possibly the best day to start your diet is a Saturday. It seems that if you have the will power and dieting commitment to start on a Saturday, you’re more likely to reach your weight loss target. The Tesco study found that the Saturday starters had a clear goal in mind and were committed enough to see the diet through to the end. And the most popular day to ditch the diet is Friday, after a stressful week at work.

A spokeswoman for Tesco Diets, said: ‘Changing your eating habits can be a hard challenge whatever day of the week.

‘With women struggling with their busy work-life balance, mental and physical preparation has never been more important.

‘Time should be taken to draw up shopping lists and peruse the supermarket shelves carefully to make sensible, informed choices without grabbing the nearest tin.’

Of course, Mondays aren’t the start of the working week for everyone. When it comes down to it, personal motivation and determination are what’s needed to keep you going, whatever diet you choose and whatever day of the week you decide to start.