Controlled Indulgence
Posted by
angela p.
Jane Brody of the New York Times reports that she has succeeded in weight loss and maintenance with controlled indulgences. Unlike other dieters who believe in absolutely no treats she allowed herself one treat each day.
She says that she learned "when I struggled unsuccessfully for more than a year to lose 35 pounds, that deprivation feeds desire and can lead to overindulgence at the first opportunity.
And so I adopted a philosophy that I call controlled indulgence. In the two years it took me to return to a reasonable weight for my 5-foot frame, I allowed myself one small treat each day — perhaps two cookies, a thin slice of cake or pie or a few tablespoons of ice cream. The strategy worked, and I continued to use it in the decades of weight maintenance that followed."
A friend of hers was shocked that she kept 6 half gallons of ice cream in her freezer.
Unlike some other dieters who can't have food around that they might eat in a weak moment she finds herself able to stick to the serving size of 1/2 a cup. She picks brands that have 150 calories or less but doesn' t buy fat free or sugar free because she doesn't like the taste.
She uses 1/2 cup containers to measure out her servings and if she started eating more than she allowed herself she admits that she would get rid of it.
She also uses "controlled indulgence" with chocolates. She says, "I keep quite a lot of it around, especially chocolate-covered almonds and Trader Joe’s minipretzels smothered in dark chocolate. Again, the house rule is portion control. Four almonds or two pretzels a day or out they go."
She goes on to explain how she uses the same approach with buffets and other occasions which are threatening to waist watching folk. Read the whole article at NYT.
When raising her kids, Brody "kept no candy, soda, chips or sugary cereals in the house. But the boys could order soda when we dined out and eat any cereal they wanted when they spent the night at a friend’s house. And every Saturday, we gave them money to buy a bar of any candy they wanted"
She says they stopped buying the candy after a few months and to this day are not interested in candy, soda, or other sweets. Although they do enjoy ice cream, like their mother.
Controlled Indulgence
Posted by angela p.
Jane Brody of the New York Times reports that she has succeeded in weight loss and maintenance with controlled indulgences. Unlike other dieters who believe in absolutely no treats she allowed herself one treat each day.
She says that she learned "when I struggled unsuccessfully for more than a year to lose 35 pounds, that deprivation feeds desire and can lead to overindulgence at the first opportunity.
And so I adopted a philosophy that I call controlled indulgence. In the two years it took me to return to a reasonable weight for my 5-foot frame, I allowed myself one small treat each day — perhaps two cookies, a thin slice of cake or pie or a few tablespoons of ice cream. The strategy worked, and I continued to use it in the decades of weight maintenance that followed."
A friend of hers was shocked that she kept 6 half gallons of ice cream in her freezer.
Unlike some other dieters who can't have food around that they might eat in a weak moment she finds herself able to stick to the serving size of 1/2 a cup. She picks brands that have 150 calories or less but doesn' t buy fat free or sugar free because she doesn't like the taste.
She uses 1/2 cup containers to measure out her servings and if she started eating more than she allowed herself she admits that she would get rid of it.
She also uses "controlled indulgence" with chocolates. She says, "I keep quite a lot of it around, especially chocolate-covered almonds and Trader Joe’s minipretzels smothered in dark chocolate. Again, the house rule is portion control. Four almonds or two pretzels a day or out they go."
She goes on to explain how she uses the same approach with buffets and other occasions which are threatening to waist watching folk. Read the whole article at NYT.
When raising her kids, Brody "kept no candy, soda, chips or sugary cereals in the house. But the boys could order soda when we dined out and eat any cereal they wanted when they spent the night at a friend’s house. And every Saturday, we gave them money to buy a bar of any candy they wanted"
She says they stopped buying the candy after a few months and to this day are not interested in candy, soda, or other sweets. Although they do enjoy ice cream, like their mother.