I have literally been on some sort of “diet” since the day my mom dropped my “chubby” 13 year old body off at the first of many Weight Watcher meetings I would attend. Those were the days when a weekly serving of liver was a requirement, and you were allowed to chew Bazooka bubble gum for a treat because apparently you burned the calories while chewing. My friend Nadine lasted about 3 minutes while I tried to follow the plan religiously, only to succumb to the fried clam dinners and chocolate sodas at Howard Johnson’s. Thus began a lifetime of restricting and bingeing; all or nothing. I was either on a diet or off and there was no in between.
I realize that to lose weight, it IS necessary to restrict the number of calories we consume and burn more calories than we take in. But, we also need to be realistic about living our life and making a choice to keep our body in shape. Many people lose weight easily at first, but once they start to eat “forbidden foods”, gain some of the weight back. It’s not so much because of the occasional treat; it’s the “all or nothing” attitude that sabotages them.
So I am stealing a line made famous in the movie Risky Business (and later by my husband), “Sometimes you just have to say, What the ****!”
And what I mean here is sometimes you need to give in to a treat or special meal. You just need to plan ahead and get right back on track. Your secretary brings in Gooey Butter cookies. If you just can’t stand not to taste it, take a bite; take one cookie. Then walk away. Chances are, if you don’t, you’ll go home and eat a whole bag of packaged cookies to make up for denying yourself the one butter cookie. One butter cookie, maybe 200 calories. A whole bag of Nutter Butters, lots more!
So you’ve been watching your carbs and calorie intake. That doesn’t mean you can’t have a small plate of whole grain pasta once in a while. Just be smart about it. No butter, no heavy cream sauce, control your portion and life goes on. The key is to get back to your sensible eating immediately, before things get out of hand. Seeing the deviation as free rein to keep eating as much as we can since we’ve already gone off the diet pushes us farther away from our goal and deeper into rationalizing our out of control behavior.
If you know you’re going to meet your friends at a Mexican restaurant where chips and margaritas are involved, spend an extra half an hour at the gym doing cardio intervals or walk an extra 25 minutes to burn the calories ahead of time. Plan the number of chips and drink(s) you are going to have and stick to the number. Get up the next morning (and you won’t have a hangover because you stuck to your 1½ margaritas) and eat a nourishing breakfast that puts you back on track. It’s over. You indulged. Now you’re back.
Take the mindset of “all or nothing” and turn it into “moderation”. Ask anyone who has lost weight and kept it off successfully. It’s about fueling your body with premium nutrition and topping it off once in a while with a special indulgence.
I realize that to lose weight, it IS necessary to restrict the number of calories we consume and burn more calories than we take in. But, we also need to be realistic about living our life and making a choice to keep our body in shape. Many people lose weight easily at first, but once they start to eat “forbidden foods”, gain some of the weight back. It’s not so much because of the occasional treat; it’s the “all or nothing” attitude that sabotages them.
So I am stealing a line made famous in the movie Risky Business (and later by my husband), “Sometimes you just have to say, What the ****!”
And what I mean here is sometimes you need to give in to a treat or special meal. You just need to plan ahead and get right back on track. Your secretary brings in Gooey Butter cookies. If you just can’t stand not to taste it, take a bite; take one cookie. Then walk away. Chances are, if you don’t, you’ll go home and eat a whole bag of packaged cookies to make up for denying yourself the one butter cookie. One butter cookie, maybe 200 calories. A whole bag of Nutter Butters, lots more!
So you’ve been watching your carbs and calorie intake. That doesn’t mean you can’t have a small plate of whole grain pasta once in a while. Just be smart about it. No butter, no heavy cream sauce, control your portion and life goes on. The key is to get back to your sensible eating immediately, before things get out of hand. Seeing the deviation as free rein to keep eating as much as we can since we’ve already gone off the diet pushes us farther away from our goal and deeper into rationalizing our out of control behavior.
If you know you’re going to meet your friends at a Mexican restaurant where chips and margaritas are involved, spend an extra half an hour at the gym doing cardio intervals or walk an extra 25 minutes to burn the calories ahead of time. Plan the number of chips and drink(s) you are going to have and stick to the number. Get up the next morning (and you won’t have a hangover because you stuck to your 1½ margaritas) and eat a nourishing breakfast that puts you back on track. It’s over. You indulged. Now you’re back.
Take the mindset of “all or nothing” and turn it into “moderation”. Ask anyone who has lost weight and kept it off successfully. It’s about fueling your body with premium nutrition and topping it off once in a while with a special indulgence.
(Just a note- I think Weight Watcher's is one of the best diets out there and have basically followed a skeleton form of the diet since losing weight as a member. It's definitely more user friendly than it was when I was a teenager, allowing for a much more flexible way to stay fit!)
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