This diet, that food, those pills-ahhhhhh-it gets so confusing trying to figure out if the food you heard last week was great for weight loss is still good for weight loss this week or if it has suddenly turned into a taboo food that will pump you up into a blimp. I am always one of the first ones (okay maybe I am not out of all the millions of people in the world but I think I am) to jump on the- this will make you skinny bandwagon if it sounds even remotely reasonable ( I am not even going to get into all the ridiculous things I have tried). So, now that I am older and wiser (I wish the wiser were true) I know there is no miracle diet that lasts forever.Tonight while I was reading my book, "Eat, Shrink and Be Merry" by Janet and Greta Podleski (for some reason I like to read this cook book and pretend I am really going to cook-that will be the day) I came across the 80/20 rule. This is simple, reasonable, healthy and still allows you to dive into your favorite foods once in awhile. Below is their take on how to stay slender and trim-
"Moderation, moderation, moderation. Most foods in moderation are okay. Most foods in excess- even some healthy foods-are not okay. It's our excesses that can lead to problems. Obesity, cancer, diabetes and heart disease are not the result of eating "unhealthy" or "taboo" foods every once in a while. They're usually the result of regular consumption of unhealthy foods-day in and day out, year after year. A helpful and realistic healthy eating guideline is the 80/20 rule: Eighty percent of the time, try choosing foods that are nutritious, high in fiber and low in bad fats. Twenty percent of the time, eat what you wan and let yourself and an indulgence. Craving chocolate ice cream? Scoop up a small serving and savor every spoonful. Then get back on the healthy eating track for the rest of the day. It's not every morsel of food you eat that's important-it's what you do consistently, over the long haul that really counts."
This is pretty much how I eat on a daily basis. I try to eat healthy and then I allow myself my "taboo" (I like that word) foods. If I did not have self control I would eat the "taboo" foods all the time and be huge. I think this is a reasonable way to stay slim as it works for me!
P.S. Halloween is a hard time for the 80/20 in our house as we just bought tons of chocolate so after just polishing off 3 mini Hershey chocolate bars (and feeling very guilty) I am going to strive for 70/30 until Halloween ends and this chocolate is gone (God willing it will not all be "gone" to my stomach).
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