The All Or Nothing Approach

Have you ever followed a diet successfully for two weeks or more and then fell prey to some gooey or greasy temptation? Once you eat that forbidden fruit, do you spiral out of control eating everything you've denied yourself?

This is a pattern I've witnessed in my life, and often, once I start eating the wrong foods I continue to do so for days if not weeks. One of the reasons I think this happens is that the "all or nothing" approach sets you up to be either a success or a failure. There is no in-between. Once I fail, I figure I might as well fail big time and eat what I want before I start again. How crazy is that?

The all or nothing approach is not realistic or practical. Let's face it, life happens. There's all kinds of reasons we may go off our diet, or make an unhealthy choice. The sad thing is to let that one time throw us into a tail spin.

My suggestion is to follow the new day approach. Each day is a new beginning. We have a clean slate. Don't carry failures or success from the previous day with you. Take each day as a new start and make the best of it. Have a plan to give you direction. For example, on Saturday I made an Asian salad of greens that have been marinating and will be perfect for lunches this week. I won't have to figure out what I'm eating for lunch, when I'm hungry and the Christmas cookies are an easy target.

Whether you're trying to lose 15 pounds fast, or working to get your cholesterol down, it is accomplished one day at a time. Today is a new day! A new start! Enjoy it!

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