Calories, Scales, and Desperate Dieting

Having never been on a diet myself, I don't completely understand all of the logic behind calorie--counting, eating nothing but fruit, and avoiding chocolate all together. That being said, I do have an understanding about the desire to be fit and feel good about your body.

I ran across an article about uncovering dieting myths. It's really quite interesting, if you're big into the whole dieting thing.

For me, these are the guidelines I follow:

1. Never, ever, ever weigh yourself! I haven't weighed myself in almost two years. It simply does bad things to me. I start to feel bad, even if I have no reason to. I was reading about weighing yourself on a scale and how obsessive people shouldn't do it. I guess I learned that I'm obsessive. I'd never thought of myself as obsessive...who knew?
2. Incorporate fruits and veggies as snacks. It's not bad to eat frequently. In fact, eating more frequently helps keep your metabolism higher. Snacking, as long as it's healthy food and doesn't exceed a healthy number of calories, is good. In addition, I find a banana or almonds to be a lot more filling than a candy bar.
   
3. Avoid eating when you first go home, unless you really are hungry. Usually, when I go home, it's dinner time. The food break I normally get when I go home now triggers a psychological need to eat whenever I walk in my front door. It's not necessarily hunger.
   
4. When you're hungry...EAT! Our bodies are pretty amazing and are capable of helping us understand when we need nutrition and food in our stomachs. A well-known test I frequently use is to ask myself if I'm willing to eat an apple or carrots. If I am, then I really am hungry. Then I eat!

It's really important to find what works best for you. Managing weight isn't always easy, especially during the emotional times of life. The best thing to remember is that nothing is bad, as long as it is rationed.

Find nutrtious foods you enjoy. Don't starve yourself! Don't limit your diet to specific foods--sooner or later you'll get sick of it.

I once heard Dr. Phil say, "Don't live to eat; eat to live."

...and that's my two cents about dieting!!!