Hi there! I'm a newbie and I have a question.
When do I know that I am eating a special treat in moderation, versus when I am eating something that will sabotage my attempt to have a healthier lifestyle?
Background: I believe the key to long-term success with weight loss is to be realistic and not entirely cut out junk food. For example, instead of eating at a restaurant 7 days a week, just going out once or twice. But my problem is that sometimes I don't know whether I am enjoying the occasional treat, or whether I am just plain eating too much junk.
Today I had a craving for pizza, so I went out and got a pizza. Other people have said that if you really want something, you should have some of it, because otherwise you will end up eating more food that you don't want in an attempt to satisfy the craving. But maybe I should not have eaten that pizza. Maybe eating it wasn't a healthy indulgence, but rather it was me giving in to a craving and failing at an attempt to change my eating habits.
Does anybody have any suggestions? My main vices are soda and restaurants. What do you do -- make up certain rules for yourself? If you have rules, what are they? Something like "only one _____ (insert junk food) per _____ (insert time period)?"
Any help is appreciated.