Diets forbid foods you can’t give up
Balance is a boring word, but when you think about what it really means, it’s incredibly alluring. To me, balance means having your cake and eating it too – literally. In all my years of counseling clients, I’ve only met a few who didn’t have at least one can’t-live-without splurge food. According to the UK survey, the top five foods people find hard to resist are: chocolate, potato chips, cheese, bread and wine. One in four give in within a month of swearing them off, but the truth is, it’s possible to indulge without derailing your results, as long as you create some balance. For example, if you’re going to a restaurant and you want to get dessert, which is high in carbs and fat, leave the carbs and fat out of your dinner, and make a meal of veggies and lean protein, like steamed or roasted vegetables with chicken or lentils. It may seem strange if you’re used to all or nothing, but think of it this way: spending a little too much on occasion leads to a much better outcome than going on frequent, wild spending sprees. More progress, less chaos.