Last week I wrote about how you can look at your food intake across a whole week rather than as a daily amount.
I said that you could take the appeal off ‘special food’ by allowing yourself a little of it a little more often, but that there are some foods which we just have no off-switch for, no matter what we try.
The truth is that there are no bad foods.
There are some foods you should satisfy your hunger with (real food!) and some you need to keep to a minimum (processed food) in order to keep your weight, and health, in check.
This sounds lovely and simple doesn’t it. But what if you find it all but impossible to stop eating a certain food after a sensible amount?
I have written before about the very low carb diet I followed for two years. It was an absolute miracle for me, and solved my food and sugar cravings. But like anything, it doesn’t work forever, and I have had to include some carbs back into my diet.
I’ve learned that I can be trusted with potatoes, rice, starchy veg and even fruit. They don’t make me want more sugar (this shouldn’t really have been a surprise!).
But even after not as much as sniffing a bar of chocolate for two years, I still cannot be trusted with the stuff. I can eat a few crisps then walk away, but I cannot put half a bar of chocolate back in the fridge.
So, I choose not to light the fire. I choose (mostly) not to buy the chocolate. Not because it is bad for me, but because the consequences are not worth it for me. I don’t want to trigger a whole evening of stuffing my face, a bad nights sleep and a foggy brain the next day.
Sometimes, the price is worth paying, but mostly it is not.
It is not a punishment and something you are not allowed to eat because it is bad. Instead, it is a choice you make to make it easier for yourself to stay on track and reach your goals.
This shift in mindset often makes a huge difference to our ability to stay the course, give it a try.