Enjoy Foods You Love Without Cheating
RunConquerCelebrate
Posts: 956 Member
From LOSING IT! With Jillian Michaels
Friday, August 19, 2011
Enjoy Foods You Love Without Cheating
Here's a big mistake people make when they set out to lose weight: They say to themselves, "Okay, I'm on a diet, so I'm never eating [insert tempting high-calorie food here] again." And then, inevitably, they slip up and binge on that food. They beat themselves up about it, write off their entire healthy-living experiment as a failure, and give up.
Sound familiar?
Living a healthy life is all about balance. You have to learn how to walk a line between self-denial and self-indulgence. It's the middle ground between the two that offers the best foundation on which to build your new life. Denying yourself little pleasures such as the occasional glass of wine or chocolate truffle will only make you feel deprived, frustrated, and ultimately hopeless about maintaining your discipline. A temptation is a lot less powerful if it isn't totally forbidden. This is where moderation comes in.
I will never be able to give up all the edible goodies life has to offer, but by practicing moderation I've found a solution to my weaknesses that I can live with every day. There's room for all foods, no matter how "bad" they are; it's just a matter of being conscious and careful of how often you eat them and how much. It's fine to have a piece of cake now and then — just not every day, and not the whole cake.
I can already hear what you're thinking: "If I eat a little bit, I'll want it all." We all have at least one food that we truly can't eat a little of without going overboard. Mine is ice cream. If you know that a particular food has that kind of trigger effect on you, try choosing an alternative. I will often have a few bites of organic dark chocolate instead of ice cream so that my sweet tooth will be satisfied but I won't end up with an empty ice cream carton in my hands. If your weakness is potato chips, try having some air-popped popcorn as a snack instead. Trust me — in time you can adapt so that small amounts of "cheat" foods will not set you off on a binge.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Enjoy Foods You Love Without Cheating
Here's a big mistake people make when they set out to lose weight: They say to themselves, "Okay, I'm on a diet, so I'm never eating [insert tempting high-calorie food here] again." And then, inevitably, they slip up and binge on that food. They beat themselves up about it, write off their entire healthy-living experiment as a failure, and give up.
Sound familiar?
Living a healthy life is all about balance. You have to learn how to walk a line between self-denial and self-indulgence. It's the middle ground between the two that offers the best foundation on which to build your new life. Denying yourself little pleasures such as the occasional glass of wine or chocolate truffle will only make you feel deprived, frustrated, and ultimately hopeless about maintaining your discipline. A temptation is a lot less powerful if it isn't totally forbidden. This is where moderation comes in.
I will never be able to give up all the edible goodies life has to offer, but by practicing moderation I've found a solution to my weaknesses that I can live with every day. There's room for all foods, no matter how "bad" they are; it's just a matter of being conscious and careful of how often you eat them and how much. It's fine to have a piece of cake now and then — just not every day, and not the whole cake.
I can already hear what you're thinking: "If I eat a little bit, I'll want it all." We all have at least one food that we truly can't eat a little of without going overboard. Mine is ice cream. If you know that a particular food has that kind of trigger effect on you, try choosing an alternative. I will often have a few bites of organic dark chocolate instead of ice cream so that my sweet tooth will be satisfied but I won't end up with an empty ice cream carton in my hands. If your weakness is potato chips, try having some air-popped popcorn as a snack instead. Trust me — in time you can adapt so that small amounts of "cheat" foods will not set you off on a binge.
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Replies
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I love Jillian.0
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I love Jillian.
Ditto!0 -
It annoys me when people say "You can't eat that your on a diet" . I respond "I can eat what ever I choose to eat, I just watch how much of it I eat!!!" Then I have to go into all the jazz of explaining it's not a diet it's a life style change and I am training for the rest of my life!0
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EXACTLY!!0
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EXCELLENT article! I've adopted that philosophy after many attempts at cutting everything I love out of my life while on a "diet". It doesn't work in the long run. Jillian has (again) given us great food for thought and something that's totally achievable. Kudos!!!0
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It annoys me when people say "You can't eat that your on a diet" . I respond "I can eat what ever I choose to eat, I just watch how much of it I eat!!!" Then I have to go into all the jazz of explaining it's not a diet it's a life style change and I am training for the rest of my life!
same here! god i get so tired of people that tell me 'that's not on your diet" hello! i'm not on a damn diet and i'll eat whatever i please in moderation as i see fit!0 -
It annoys me when people say "You can't eat that your on a diet" . I respond "I can eat what ever I choose to eat, I just watch how much of it I eat!!!" Then I have to go into all the jazz of explaining it's not a diet it's a life style change and I am training for the rest of my life!
I have to agree with what you said, people think that you are on a diet because you do not want to go and eat junk food with them. I have gotten that question asked from my co-workers before and it is annoying.0 -
EXCELLENT article! I've adopted that philosophy after many attempts at cutting everything I love out of my life while on a "diet". It doesn't work in the long run. Jillian has (again) given us great food for thought and something that's totally achievable. Kudos!!!
I have to agree, I have never diet because I know for sure I would fail. I love sweets and if I take them out of my life completely I will fail for sure.I hate following meal plans because they do not work for me. So I am making changes slowly but I know these changes will stick instead of taking everything out and failing horribly0 -
I fully agree... really shouldn't deprive yourself of anything. However, I still struggle with portion control of my favorite "bad" foods (mostly the sweet stuff) so do end up trying to avoid it when I know that I will have difficulty limiting myself.0
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