It's a pretty good bet that you've never heard a dietician or fitness instructor telling you to cheat on your diet. The usual party line is that you MUST stick to your eating plan - no matter what. But just occasionally, cheating may be the right decision to help you in learning healthy eating habits that will last a lifetime.
Giving yourself a little wiggle room could mean the different between being able to stick to your diet for a long period, and quitting on it for good. Sometimes a little cheat such as some chocolate or chips can stop you from feeling that horrible pain of deprivation and despair.
It's a very different thing to give in to temptation as opposed to giving up completely. When you give in and have a little taste of what you're craving, you're not giving up on your diet, you're just having a bit of flexibility.
So does this mean you can "give in" 24 hours a day and still lose weight? Obviously not. But most successful dieters know that they need to give themselves a little leeway now and again. It would be great if going on a diet meant that you'd never crave unhealthy foods again, but that's not the reality. Sometimes we just need something that is supposed to be off limits.
Sometimes the cravings you experience aren't psychological, either. When you diet, you're naturally restricting your intake of certain foods, and this can sometimes mean missing out on required vitamins and minerals. If you're lacking in something, sometimes your body prompts a craving for a food which contains it, to try to force you to take that material on board.
But even if the craving is psychological rather than physical, giving in may help the pressure you feel about sticking to your diet. Sure, it would be better to be able to swear to eat healthily and exercise right for the rest of your life. But in the real world, weight loss plans are sold as "diets" and we instinctively feel a negative reaction because it seems to imply that we have to forgo our favorite foods.
Are you worried that giving in from time to time will end up with you giving up completely? If you've given yourself permission in advance to have something you want in moderation, then the chances of this are very low.
The worst thing about giving in to temptation is that we tend to feel disgusted and ashamed of ourselves afterwards. But if you've made the decision ahead of time that you're going to do this, there's no need for you to beat yourself up - you're following your plan, after all.
Most diet plans don't have this built-in flexibility - they just tell you to give up these foods forever. In order to stick to the diet long term, you may have to make your own edited plan that meets your physical, lifestyle and psychological needs.
Listen to your body giving you clues to what it needs. If you're craving bacon on a low-fat diet, then you may be low in essential fatty acids. Once you've dealt with your immediate craving, you may want to add some healthy fats like nuts or olive oil into your plan. Similarly if you find yourself craving chips, your body may need more carbohydrate - try adding whole grain rice.
Whatever your "official" diet plan says, you're the person on the diet and it's up to you to make the decision to give yourself a pass to cheat on your diet, just a tiny bit!
Karen Barr is a mother, designer, and lifelong dieter. She owns and operates Fast Weight Loss Tips, a dieter's resource for weight loss news, reviews, tips and opinion on Diet Solution Program review and more.
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