By DAVID TEPERA | Posted: Thursday, October 2, 2014
Almost all of us want to lose weight. How many of you tried multiple diets, but after a short period of time, the temptation of old habits gets you? The diet fails because we set ourselves up for failure. You can’t completely stop old habits. It has to be a slow process that develops over time while becoming a lifestyle.
I’m going to teach you an optional way to cheat with diets. The goal is to help you succeed while transferring from bad eating habits to good.
I am a single parent of two teenagers, and I typically cook at least five days out of the week. Even though I’m teaching my kids healthy food choices, they still get their doughnuts and ice cream.
For starters, do your best to keep a healthy diet during the week, and let weekends be off-limits. Your mind will take better control of a diet if it knows a reward is coming in a few days. This doesn’t mean to eat unhealthy foods on the weekend, but if you want to, you can without guilt.
Try this — don’t eat any fried foods or sweets Monday through Friday. Then celebrate with your favorite dessert on Saturday. Continue doing this each week and healthier habits will develop.
If for some reason you venture off your diet during the week, don’t beat yourself up over it. Accept it as a rough patch toward a better eating lifestyle.
If you have an uncontrollable urge to cheat during the week then cheat with a snack and not the meal. Eat a candy bar between meals and still keep meals healthy. You’ve only blown the diet with a candy bar, not on a full meal. It won’t be as depressing.
Don’t be discouraged by what you’re not able to do, but encouraged by what you’ve accomplished.