Abstinence makes the heart grow fonder.
I’ll try to make a quick point this time. Let’s see if I can.
The jury’s out on whether to ban things from your diet or lifestyle. So often, I hear people talk about things they ban for the slightest dietary infraction. Take chocolate. Apparently, you can’t lose weight if you eat chocolate. It’s just impossible. The same goes for alcohol, sweets, desserts; the list goes on. To be blunt, I say BULL.
The second I ever try to cut something from my diet, I find it almost impossible to think of anything other than eating or doing it. And boy, once I’ve started thinking about eating chocolate or having a beer or something, then it’s only a matter of time before I do have it. You can guarantee that.
You see, it depends on your personality. I’m told I have tremendous willpower, but that’s because I really need to control myself if I want to get something done. But to control myself 24×7 for months on end—that ain’t gonna happen, and we all know it.
So the only thing that’s worked like clockwork for me is to focus on reducing the things I don’t want or should restrict and emphasising those I do want or should have. The gentle massage approach keeps me happy. I distract myself with something fun like playing a game, reading a book, or something to take my mind off things. Sometimes, I snack and try low-fat and healthier things. I have what I want at other times, but I use strict portion control. Say I have a cake. I cut off exactly what I need; I cut a few slices from the portion I’m giving myself because I find that it takes longer to eat, and three slices seem like more than one slice even though it’s the same amount.
So that’s my answer. To ban something means to put it on my most wanted list, and I feel trapped. To say I want to reduce it means I hardly notice, and I’m happy to try to replace it with other positive things to take my mind off what I am losing. So I don’t feel trapped with an extensive list of things I can’t have. I try to add to the list of things I can have.
