You shouldn't get down on yourself about the way you eat. Too many of us obsess over it. How much? When? What? What about that party? How many fat grams, calories, carbs, etc. We need to stop this insanity and concentrate on one thing… There is no right way, there is no wrong way, you simply eat.
Some days you eat a little and it's all healthy and some days you eat a lot is it's not all healthy. The point is that you need to forgive yourself for the days you overeat. Allowing guilt to creep in will only make it worse. No matter how much you try, there will always be days that you overeat, or you eat something that you don't consider "on your diet". Don't beat yourself up over this. Food is flavors and sometimes you just need that flavor! Accept the fact that it will happen occasionally and be prepared.
It's a simple fact that one day of overindulgence will not do much harm. It won't even move the scale much. If you get back in control of your eating the following day then you have nothing to feel guilty about! It is important, though, to keep your overeating to one day instead of multiple days. One day can be remedied quickly. Multiple days of overeating can have more damaging effects to your weight loss goals.
It is common knowledge that you can regain lost weight much more quickly than you lost it in the first place. That holds true for whichever method you used in order to lose the weight in the first place. If you lost it slowly or if you lost it quickly, you will regain it just as quickly if you go into multiple days of overeating.
The worst thing you can do after that one day of overindulgence is think, "Oh well, I blew it! I may as well give up." Don't do this. If you blew it for the day then go ahead and enjoy that day but have a clear plan for what you are going to do the following day. Plan ahead! It is going to happen so make sure it doesn't sneak up on you without you having a plan for the following day!
Sometimes it's best to have a structured eating plan; one that you can easily go back to after that one day of overindulgence. If you know ahead of time what you are going to do then you will be prepared. Life is full of detours, obstacles and temptations so we need to remain flexible in order to maneuver.
Whatever the temptation, remember that it is not bad to overindulge occasionally. If it is planned, it could even be beneficial. Don't give up. Go back to your plan and eventually you will get to your goal!
Dorothy Palmer
Sr. Research Scientist
R&D Diet Cookie™
Learn how to take back control of your eating. Read more columns like this
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Palmer is a Research Scientist with over 30 years experience in analytical science and project management. She is the founder of R&D Diet Cookie, a meal replacement engineered for fast weight loss.
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