There are three categories of dieting:

Diets that limit your variety Diets that limit your portions Diets that do both

Regardless of the nature of the diet, it takes discipline to stay on it. It takes discipline because a diet, by its nature, is about denial. The first diet denies carbs or bananas or anything but olives and peanuts. The second diet denies how much you can eat at a particular time. Most diets that tout "eat everything you want" tend to belong to this type of diet.

Denials of variety or portions are the primary reasons that diets do not work. Most of the time, though, diets are set up to be short term, but then again who wants to be on the cabbage broth and coffee diet for 20 years. To combat these denials, our minds create cravings. It's really human nature.

But cravings are bad, right? You have to develop methods to combat the cravings so you can succeed in the diet, right?

Wrong.

Cravings are not bad. Bad habits are bad. Habits are developed over the course of a lifetime. Diets fail because of our bad habits, not because of our cravings. In fact, our cravings, for good food or bad food, can actually be used for successful weight loss.

Diets, and I'm using the term in the popular since, are fads. Everybody is on a diet, because a diet is simply "what you eat". The important thing is that you have a HEALTHY diet. What is a healthy diet? Well, that is a different topic, perhaps for another day.

The best way to stay on a healthy diet is to eliminate the feeling of sacrifice. The best way to eliminate the feeling of sacrifice is through reward meals. A reward meal is exactly that: a reward for staying disciplined. Remember, though, it isn't the craving that is good or bad, but the habit, so your habit of staying disciplined on a healthy diet will, over time, lead to less and less cravings. In essence, you are using the cravings for bad food to eliminate the cravings. Reward meals have tremendous power.

Scheduling the reward meal may work for you. Maybe you prefer a reward meal once a week, maybe once a day. You may prefer to have your reward meal spontaneously. It doesn't really matter when you have it. The important thing is that you use satisfy your cravings. If you are craving chocolate cake, eat some chocolate cake. If you want a greasy, bacon burger, enjoy the burger. Remember it isn't the craving that is bad. The bad habits are bad.

So reward yourself for staying disciplined. If you haven't been disciplined, you don't get a reward. It's just that simple.

Learn more about this author, Brian Williamson.
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