by R. Renee Bembry

Created on: July 16, 2010   Last Updated: February 21, 2011

Depending on the type of diet you are on and the circumstances under which you are dieting, a possibility exists wherein breaking your diet every so often will not destroy your new eating habits. Allowing yourself to eat special treats, occasionally, to manage your cravings, could even help you stay on your diet.

Being on a diet often puts so many restrictions on what you can and cannot eat that you can easily become overwhelmed with your “new” food rules. Dieting programs usually expect dieters to eliminate many of their favorite foods in order for dieting to be successful. Breaking your diet every so often allows you to feel better about not being able to consume your favorites as much as you used to - gives you a chance to breathe!

When diets are too stringent, they can make you crave your favorite foods even more. That something that makes you want what you cannot have often has a way of terrorizing your thoughts if you cannot eat a single slice of dark chocolate cake with ice-cream, for example. If you eat cake while in a mental state that makes you feel guilty for consuming the cake, you wind up feeling bad about yourself as well as your poor will power as you place yourself back on the dieting wagon.

If on the other hand, however, you allow yourself a little leeway that permits cake and ice cream eating now and then, you can remove feelings of guilt for enjoying chocolate cake, take pleasure in opportunities to stray from your diet, and feel good in knowing that breaking your diet every so often does not make you a loser.

With all the delicious foods and drinks you are likely to come across as you live your life, it makes no sense to bypass every goodie every time you have an opportunity to indulge. As long as you do not allow your indulgences to get out of control, breaking your diet once in a while is not likely to be that big of a deal. Besides, if you should think you went a little too far with your splurging, you could always work a little harder to get rid of the extra calories while at the gym. You could also rid the calories doing things such as going on extra long walks, running around a park, or playing exhilarating outdoor sports.

Allowing yourself to break your diet every so often also allows you the opportunity to partake in functions, such as pizza parties, where fattening foods play major roles in the fun. Just remember that breaking your diet does not mean you should eat three slices of pizza instead of one or two. Nor does it mean you should drink a sixty four ounce soft drink instead of a twelve ounce drink with your pizza. What it does mean is that you are going to enjoy a bit of foods, desserts, or drinks that you normally would not consume under your new diet plan. That is all it means. It does not mean going on a high calorie food binge.

Another reason why it’s okay to break your diet every so often is simply that you deserve to break your diet every so often. In fact, we all deserve to break our diets now and then unless, of course, we have physical conditions that call for us to remain on strict medically advised diets at all times. If you were placed on such a diet, then, you would owe it to yourself to stay on your diet so that you can remain healthy for yourself, your family, and your friends who love you.

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