So after my nine-day weekend celebration of my birthday I stood before the bathroom scales shaking with fear and trepidation. It was time to face the truth. After liberating myself from my diet what was the damage? I’d given myself a few days’ grace after the feast with not exactly fasting but definitely dieting. The time had come to see how bad it was.
On I stepped. Heart in mouth, eyes tight shut. Then I looked. I’d gained... two pounds! TWO! All that feasting. All that eating. And I’d only gained two pounds. This was fantastic news. I’d gone into my birthday celebrations weighing more than I wanted to - don’t we always weigh more than we want to we lifetime dieters? But to gain only two pounds was pretty good I reckoned. If only my Christmas gain had been so low.
Now Spring is here it’s much easier to get gained weight back off and I’ve all the confidence in the world I’ll manage that. Appetites are smaller, lighter meals are preferable. Comfort eating isn’t so appealing nor so necessary. We’ve had a long hard Winter here in the northern hemisphere. The light has finally returned and the warmer, springier, days.
So what have I learned from this? That it’s okay to take a break from your diet. It isn’t the end of the world and it doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll put all the weight back on. In fact I was glad to return to dieting. I’d grown fed up of feeling fed up. I longed to feel light again, emptier again. Less bloated. The fear many of us dieters have is that if we relapse just once that’s it. We’ll never be able to get back on it. But you can. And in fact I think it’s essential to let yourself go from time to time. Holidays, celebrations, Christmas, meals out, get-togethers, anniversaries whatever it is we need to punctuate our diets with feasts. No one can stay on a diet forever nor should they.
No such thing as bad food
We need to get away from this idea that there are bad foods or that we are bad for eating them. There are no bad foods. There are bad diets, yes, but all food is good yes even crisps and biscuits - ask someone who’s truly starving how important such calorie-dense foods are. Guilt over eating what we have been programmed to think are bad foods can sabotage a diet more than anything else in my view. Why shouldn’t we enjoy cake, sweets, ice-cream, crisps and chocolate? There’s a very good reason we love and crave these foods - they are choc full of calories and we’re programmed to survive, hence our brains sends us messages to want them. Your craving shows your brain is working - be glad about it not sad.
Easter is nearly here and that means Easter eggs - chocolate. YUM! And hot cross buns - even more yum. Toast them and butter them generously. And try this - add thick slices of cheddar to each half with some pickle on top. I highly recommend this and have you ever tried chilli jam? If not, do! It’s wonderful and makes a lovely combination of heat and sweet.
Treats helps diets work
To succeed on a diet you need treats. May sound counter intuitive but it’s really not. We all need something to look forward to and succeeding on a diet entitles you to treats sometimes. That’s my rationale anyway. I love my food. I love dieting too. It’s entirely possible to live well, live healthily, loving both. So factor treats into your diet - most diet plans do this for the very good reason that if you’re too abstemious you won’t stick to it. Many of us start off determined to give up everything we love in order to lose weight. This is a mistake. Incorporate what you love most into your diet and you’re much more likely to succeed long term.
Have a lovely Easter break and thanks for reading.