My Dieting Logic
 

Sometimes, the simplest concepts just zing right past our ears. We
know them from common sense, but don't use the strength of those
ideas, in our quest to lose some fat.

Here's one of mine, and it's addressed to idea's expressed here
recently:
"Sometimes it's just tempting to give up on weight control and go for
the Cheetos or bratzel bag!!!"

The thing with dieting is it takes a LONG time. Nothing short and
sweet about it. It's like making a chain - every day is another link,
either weak or strong.

It's perfectly natural to feel deprived after weeks of careful eating.

This was the idea that I had missed for a long time, and helps really
handle these feelings, once you grab it with both hands:

Let's say you love chocolate ice cream - just mad about it. Now
picture yourself eating a quart of Ben & Jerry's premium chocolate ice
cream - yummy!

You love it so much, you order a whole case of it, and start eating.

Is the second quart as good as the first one was? No. Say somehow
you ate 5 quarts. How good was the 5th quart?

Not good at all, and now you're quite sick to your stomach, and rather
sick of chocolate ice cream, in general, and Ben & Jerry's, in
particular.

The FIRST time you eat a new "calorie hand grenade" like the ice
cream, it's great. But it will *NEVER EVER*, be somehow, better. It
can only taste worse, the more you eat it.

And since that's true with the quart size servings, it's also quite
true with the half-quart serving size, as well. You actually enjoy the
first few bites of the ice cream, far more than the last of the quart,
or of the pint.

So sharing a pint of the ice cream with someone else, is just as good,
and way more sociable, also. I have a "magic number" of three (used to
be 5). Give me 3 tablespoons of some wicked little goody, and that's
all I need. I've gotten 95% of the enjoyment that could be had no
matter how much I ate, and only a fraction of the calories that I'd
get if I pigged out.

Pigging out is for well, the pigs. (and no need to mention how much
ice cream I've put away in a single sitting before I finally latched
onto this idea, eh?) :)

I now know that while goodies like chocolate ice cream will never be
different or better (same brand, same type), I can see something
entirely new and better on myself - a flatter stomach.

Now I don't feel deprived in any way. I have a laid back attitude
toward food, and do occasionally eat some "calorie hand grenade" --
but only the good first few bites. I know that's all the best part.

If you can "have your cake and eat it too", in dieting. This is it, I
believe.