Licence to binge - but I didn't want to
After hitting my target last week I gave myself a couple of days off the diet. A licence to binge. A reward. Celebration. But I didn’t want to.
I stared at the packet of Colin the Caterpillar cakes. Not having children and all my friends’ kids long grown up I haven’t been to a child’s birthday party in quite a while. So I’d never had a Colin the Caterpillar cake. But I’d heard loads about them. They’re made by Marks and Spencer which has not paid for this mention nor sent me any free cakes - but should they wish to do so, my number’s in the book.
I really wanted to try one out but there was no way I could buy a whole cake just for me. Then I discovered they come in mini sizes. What a gift. Or was it? Eating one mini cake was quite different from wolfing the lot. Could my willpower stand it!? It could. I bought the cakes as a treat for hitting my target. But I only ate one. I gave three away and one remains in my ‘fridge. I can’t bring myself to eat it because I love seeing its smiley face every time I open the ‘fridge. Had I finally become Lady Willpower?
Forbidden foods are not part of my weight-loss regime because simple psychology tells us we always crave what we’re not allowed to have. So I allow myself anything and everything I want and like. Just in small quantities. I still eat chocolate. I have crisps, occasionally, and because cheese is one of my favourite foods I solve its calorie denseness by having it as a meal rather than a dessert or snack. Cheese and crackers as a main meal feels like a treat. And when something feels like a treat you don’t feel cheated. It’s very important not to feel cheated or as if you’re making sacrifice after sacrifice. If you feel you’re going without and putting up with what you eat rather than enjoying it you won’t stick to any diet. Eventually the willpower snaps. The trick is to treat yourself.
Since hitting my target my weight has stayed the same which is precisely what I predicted it would do. It was tough enough getting three and a half stone off (49 pounds/22 kilos) in 12 months. The last bit I need to lose - the final stone (14 pounds/6 kilos) - is going to be much harder. So I’m having a bit of a rest from strict dieting. I may be able to kid my body that I’m not dieting anymore so when I start back again the weight will fall off as it usually does at the start of a diet. And that’s the reason many diets eventually fail. The big loss at the start isn’t matched by future losses and it’s easy to become disheartened. What’s the point of suffering if you only lose half a pound in two weeks? If that? This is where you can make the plateau your friend. Try to stay put for a while. See if that works. It doesn’t matter if you stop losing for a bit so long as you don’t treat it as a licence to binge and so put it all back on again.
And that’s very hard for many of us who struggle with our weight. So it’s a bit of a test. I’m not bingeing but I’m not being strict anymore either. Just for a short while I want to see what I can eat without gaining. Then I’ll start trying to lose again. No targets this time. I’ll get to the right BMI for my age, height and sex eventually. It may take till the end of next year though I do hope it’s a lot sooner. But if it does take a long time I can comfort myself with the knowledge that a slow loss is a loss that stays lost! Right now my only target is to keep off what I’ve taken off.
3.5 stone in 12m is fantastic. Maybe there are natural plateaux in the year - the Jewish holidays for me, Christmas and Easter for others, birthdays. As long as you stay on the plateau that's OK. Also winter is a lot harder than summer to lose, did you find that?