What good is a "diet"???

[Munchy]

I never tell people I'm on a diet - they just see what I eat and make their own deductions. When people have always seen you eat the same way for years, they just assume "that person is a healthy eater."

[MiVidaLoca23]

Originally Posted by sontaikle

you don't even have to consider the cake "cheating." You can just make sure you leave enough room for it or make up for it the next day.

I've had cake, sweets and other things while in weight loss mode; it just takes careful planning.

I'm not saying that you have to take the cake all the time...but a piece of cake every now and then won't set you back

For me this is something I will need to work on... I have a hard time limiting myself. I know that if I indulge then I will go overboard. I guess this is more of a 'willpower' type of thing though. In my head I know that moderation is key, but I feel like if I reward myself with a treat now and then, then I wont want to quit, and that I will pick up bad eating habits again. But I also know that depriving myself from a treat isn't good either. As long as I can learn how to limit myself I should be able to comfortably enjoy an indulgement somewhere down the road. It's just a fear of mine that I won't be able to stop.

[Ange120]

I agree...people are always asking me what diet I'm on and I simply say the eating healthy and working out diet....they always look at me weird but thats really all I'm doing...LOL

[Esofia]

Originally Posted by MiVidaLoca23

For me this is something I will need to work on... I have a hard time limiting myself. I know that if I indulge then I will go overboard. I guess this is more of a 'willpower' type of thing though. In my head I know that moderation is key, but I feel like if I reward myself with a treat now and then, then I wont want to quit, and that I will pick up bad eating habits again. But I also know that depriving myself from a treat isn't good either. As long as I can learn how to limit myself I should be able to comfortably enjoy an indulgement somewhere down the road. It's just a fear of mine that I won't be able to stop.

Start with the foods you enjoy, think of as treats, but don't tend to overeat. This could be a piece of fruit after a meal, for instance. You can work up to the foods you find more challenging to resist. I recently counted it a mini-goal when I started buying biscuits again, for instance. I hadn't gone anywhere near them for the first six months of my diet, they were a trigger food for me back then, but now I have got to the point where I can plan to have one biscuit as a treat and keep it at one. Ginger chocolate, on the other hand, is staying out of my household - far too moreish!

[Unna]

Originally Posted by Esofia

Start with the foods you enjoy, think of as treats, but don't tend to overeat. This could be a piece of fruit after a meal, for instance. You can work up to the foods you find more challenging to resist.

In principal, I think this sounds reasonable - however, something I've noticed on this website and in the physical 'real' world is that some simply are not capable of moderation.

They need to steer clear of all of their tempations. If they do succumb to temptation, it will be very dramatic for them. In fact, it will be extremely hard for them to stop succumbing to the temptation. It may take a long period of time before they can say no to the substance again. Really, it is best for them if the substance is removed from their surroundings completely, so that they have no choice in the matter.

Esofia, Sontaikle - I feel like you guys (what I gather from your other posts) have naturally more moderate personalities, i.e., not extreme. I think your advice is fitting for other people with similar personalities.

For those who tend to be super extreme, wafting from one end of the spectrum to the other, I think they should focus on what they can eat and not try to introduce their temptations into everyday life. In fact, I believe they should avoid their temptations at all costs - as one bite can quickly cause them to lose control and there is no telling when they will find the strength to regain control again.

I hope I'm not too bleak here - I just want to address those "types" that never succeed in moderation. I don't think it is a bad 'type' to be, but being this way lies outside of conventional wisdom on how to 'eat and live moderately." So, if you are this extreme type, then you need to start creating your own wisdom for the best way to eat and live.