FOODIE ON A DIET

How’s this for a contradiction!

People often say, “I love food! I could never go on a diet.” I used to one of these people. When well-meaning and not so well-meaning acquaintances suggested I should try a diet, I bristled. And shut them up with my favourite Garfield quote – “diet is ‘die’ with a ‘t’.” Any one will beat a hasty retreat when you accuse them of trying to kill you!

Yet, the stubborn food lover was forced to re-evaluate when health concerns made my weight the culprit. Terrified, I stood on the scale and agreed to lose 20 kilograms, even if I didn’t know how I was going to do it.

Like all diet-haters, I had built up my impressions of starvation & extreme diets. Since I was taking this path to better my health, losing my health along the way was definitely not to be considered. I decided I would take it slow, gradually increasing my exercise routine and phasing out the ‘bad’ foods till I reached my target.

Three things saved me and kept me on my diet –
1. The high-metabolism plan – eating small meals every 2-3 hours means I spend more time planning meals and thinking about food than I did before.
2. The discovery that giving up calories doesn’t mean giving up taste – healthy food really does taste good! And your food habits can & do evolve! My comfort craving used to be pepperoni pizza, now its poached eggs. And I actually prefer the taste of multi-grain bread to white bread.
3. Scheduled cheating – I allow myself to cheat on my diet occasionally. The only rules are not more than once a week and a limit on quantity. This ensures that I don’t entertain the ‘deprived victim’ mentality, which can lead to the vicious cycle of unhindered bingeing and relentless guilt.

I’m still a few kilograms away from my target, but I’m feeling more energetic and healthy. And I’m still a foodie. I just don’t know which kind of food I love more – the sinful calorie-rich stuff which I get once a week or the simple wholesome stuff that I get to eat every day.