A "dieting" mindset

Let's talk about eating habits. This is a topic that is very important and also very much a thorn in the sides of many. Let me first say, don't be militant about it. You don't have to swear off of everything you love. Sure some things you will have to give up, but not all. The mindset that you cannot eat anything unless its low-fat/low calorie comes from one word..."DIET"! So what I'd like you to do is stop thinking of yourself as being on a "diet", rather, think that you are learning healthier eating habits. This is a lifestyle change, which means it's from now until forever.
Here's why "diets" fail...our basic human nature makes us want the very things we CANNOT have (forbidden fruit). Well when we "diet", we immediately compile a mental list of things we CANNOT have. You may ask yourself, "why is this a bad thing?" I'll tell you why. Most people who go on a diet fail because they think cannot instead of should not.

Cannot VS should not?

You don't want to limit yourself so much that you beat yourself up if you break your own rules. I'll use myself as an example. Whenever I dieted, I would not allow myself the option of eating ANYTHING that wasn't healthy. I deprived myself of things I loved; meanwhile, people all around me ate whatever they wanted whenever they wanted. Although I did not partake with them, my cravings were steadily growing. Eventually I got to a point where I broke. Problem is---I had not eaten that kind of food for so long that I binged and afterwards I felt like a failure. I felt as though everything I had worked hard for had just been obliterated. See, if you feel like a failure, you are doomed to fail.
So what did I do? I quit. If I had thought, Kalia you really shouldn't have this, then I would still be acknowledging that maybe it’s not in my best interest to eat it, BUT I am also at the same time giving myself the option of making a choice. That means, if I eat...in moderation, I am not breaking any rules and I have no remorse afterwards.
Now, I am not saying by any means for you to eat whatever you want, whenever you want just so that you don't beat yourself up :) I'm simply saying allow yourself to have options every once in a while. If you eat a cookie, eat in moderation. Do not eat 4-5 cookies with a glass of whole milk. Instead try just 1 cookie with a glass of skim to 2% milk. Substitution is the key. You can still have some of the things you like as long as you control what you eat and how much you eat.

Until next time...