Okay, they are not my top 3 food tips. They are my only food tips. Here they are:
1. Eat less, but do not deprive yourself
Deprivation of the foods you enjoy is a disaster awaiting to happen. I should know, I have done it many, many times. I once tried to completely cut potato chips from my diet. After about two weeks I ended up devouring a bag of chips…and I’m not talking about the small bags of chips you get out of the vending machines. Yup, that’s right, I went for the party size bags. Sufficed to say, it wasn’t pretty.
Since that food disaster, I have learned that moderation is the key. When I have a craving for potato chips, I take 5-10 pieces out of the bag and store the rest for later. I also make sure that when I start eating the chips, the rest of the bag is far, far away from me (ie. I’m in the living room but the rest of the chips are in that hard to reach cupboard in the kitchen). That way, I am less likely to get up and get some more.
2. Supplement with green leafy things
When decreasing portions of meat, try and supplement them with green leafy things (yes, I know that they are called vegetables). I recently cooked myself a steak and instead of eating the rather large portion I usually like, I cut the serving in half and added a spinach salad to the meal (this is in addition to the other fruits and veggies I usually have at dinner). The benefits of this is two-fold: I ate a more balanced meal and I was not left with that hungry deprived feeling.
3. Keep the rich, yummy, tasty foods at a distance
We used to buy the family-sized portions of chocolate ice cream and 12″ chocolate cake whenever we went shopping at Superstore. What would happen was since all that stuff was right in our fridge, we would eat it more often. Now we have stopped buying those items and if we find that we have a craving for them, we would go out to a specialty dessert place to get them. While buying a slice of cake or a serving of ice cream may be more expensive at a specialty dessert place than just getting them in bulk at the grocery store, we found that we would only make the trip if our cravings out-weighed the effort needed to get any of these items. And frankly, that doesn’t happen often.
I have found that these three strategies work well for me. I found that I can’t completely cut certain foods out of my diet, but by putting putting obstacles in the way of obtaining certain foods and by reducing the portions I can get a workable balance in my diet.
What are your tricks?
{ 6 comments }
I love it Shierley! You’re embracing your laziness and making it work for you! I love ice cream, but if I buy a container, I tend to eat it all within a week. By only getting ice cream by the cone or cup at a specialty store (even though it is much more expensive), I have to put in much more effort to satisfy my ice cream craving.
I forget about moderation when it comes to vegetables. No such thing as too many vegetables! Yum.
If you really wanna put your will power to the test, try fasting for a day, and notice how much tastier everything becomes the day after! It’s incredible!
While I have never done a complete fast, I do agree that when you haven’t had certain things for a long period of time they do taste even better!
I wish I could have that much love for vegetables. Perhaps it’s the chewing.
I’ve had the same experiences with the “Chocolate Euphoria” cakes from Superstore. I always feel like I have to finish the cake while it is still fresh and moist. This usually results in me eating the cake for lunch and dinner. And you know what happens when chocolate is consumed in great amounts…you get really, really happy, then things start sticking in places, then you need to go shopping for new clothes…well, you get the picture.
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