The Perfect Diet

Is there anyone out there that really has a PERFECT diet?  Who gets to define what the perfect diet looks like anyways? 

I am using the word “diet” a lot today, but not in the “lose-weight diet” sense, but the “food that I ingest” sense (see post from last year, “Make it Positive,” for more on “dieting”: http://rdseattoo.blogspot.com/2014/09/make-it-positive.html).

Is a perfect diet void of all things with sugar and fat, void of all things that come in a package?  Is the perfect diet one that never succumbs to the call of coffee table snacks or birthday cakes?  Maybe so in our understanding of the word "perfect," but is it?

My answer to all the things above are “no.”  I firmly believe that the perfect diet comes with a balance that allows for life to happen.  Whether it’s a vacation, a holiday, a birthday, weekends away from home, or maybe your own get-together, there will be occasions that you’re faced with the decision to stick to your diet guns or indulge with grace.

This is not a post to support a diet filled with less than healthy options, but instead to support a diet that is doable and sustainable and enjoyable and healthful. 

So I choose “indulge with grace.”  This is an important point – I am not going to throw caution to the wind and indulge in large amounts and frequently, but instead I am going to take part with moderation in mind.  A cupcake, not two or three.  A juicy cheeseburger, but with a side of salad and fruit instead of potato chips.  A handful of Chex-mix, not two or three or more, while watching a game when I know I’m not really hungry.

Dana’s Dictionary:

“The Perfect Diet”

• Food intake that nourishes, heals, makes strong, delights and allows for life to happen.

I will strive for the “perfect diet” with this definition.  I will choose wholesome, nutritious foods, a balance of all the wonderful food groups and varieties, and, at times, will indulge with grace.  How about you?

Out of your control?

What happens when your food choices are out of your control?  Can that really happen?  Can someone or something keep you from staying in control of your food intake? 

No, not completely.  While situations may arise when the food you have to choose from is not your choice, how you handle your choices is still very much your own.

Vacations for instance.  We always “save up” for vacation, being extra disciplined and keeping a strict intake until we hit the road, but why?  Isn’t that pre-planning that you will make poor food decisions?  Instead, set yourself up for success.  Understand that your food intake may not be 100% A+ in the nutrition department while on vacation, but don’t use it as a free pass to disregard all your wise nutrition habits.

Another example…weddings!  We attended a wedding this weekend.  A perfect example of when the type of food offered is not your choice.  It was a beautiful wedding and fun reception, dinner served buffet style.  Lo and behold, southern food!  Of course!  Fried chicken fingers, mac and cheese, green beans, fried okra, and rolls.  Oh, and don’t forget the sweet tea!

What do you do?!  Do you turn your nose up and go without because, well, this just does not fit into your diet plan?  Haha…yeah right.  Do you figure, “well, I have no choice so I might as well go all out,” and over-indulge in the southern feast?  Again, no.  That would be deciding that your food choices are out of your control.  Instead, enjoy the provided meal graciously and stay in control.  How did I handle this particular instance?  To begin, the food was served to us in the buffet line, so the portions were pretty well controlled (which was nice as it prevented that extra generous serving of mac and cheese that may have happened otherwise).  So I accepted the 2 chicken tenders and a scoop of mac and cheese.  Second, I took a look at what was available and adjusted.  When I got to the veggies (green beans and fried okra), I requested two scoops of green beans and no okra.  For a beverage, of course water won over sweet tea.

A “go-to” adjustment for me at events where food is provided is to look for the opportunity to bump up the veggies and remove one of the greater nutrition offenders.  If work provides lunch, is salad a side option?  Bump up your salad serving and keep the main a little smaller if it is outside your typical diet parameters.  Invited unexpectedly to a restaurant for lunch or dinner?  Scope out the menu and look for grilled main options and veggie sides.  You can never go wrong with portion control too.

Was dinner last night out of my typical diet parameters?  Sure, but I felt just fine after making the best adjustments I could, taking my time to eat it, avoiding any guilt for being off-track a little, and especially after dancing the night away.  Get your toes tapping and your hips swinging and you’ll burn a few calories.

Here comes wedding and vacation season!  So don’t feel thrown off course when the available food choices are out of your control…YOU are still in control of how you handle your choices. 

Challenged by Snacking

Nighttime and/or excessive snacking comes up a lot in my counseling sessions.  It usually goes something like this:

“Well, I do pretty well all day.  It’s when I get home when it all goes downhill.” OR

“See, I eat well [after a food intake recall], but after the kids go to bed I have to snack and I don’t mean just a serving.” OR

“I’m just so hungry when I get home from work.  I nibble on everything the rest of the day.” OR

“There’s just something about sitting down at the end of the day with a book and a bag of chips.”

In the case of nighttime snacking, typically the first two-thirds of eating for the day are reported as well controlled, but as soon as it’s quittin’ time after work or after dinner, all self-control and will power fall by the wayside.

Why is that?  I guess in the morning we are fresh and ready to handle a new day, ready to stick to our plan.  At work we’re busy enough that eating just what we’ve planned still satisfies (although often starts to get harder in the afternoon).  By the time the work day ends, have you used up all your "stick-to-itiveness" and feel drained and ready to treat yourself?  Or maybe you don’t feel tempted to hop off track until everything is done for the day and you’re decompressing.  It’s quiet, all you have left to do is get ready for bed and sleep.  It’s “you” time and what’s better during “you” time than your favorite snack…you deserve it, right?

I’ve had my share of this challenge.   I’m here to tell you that most of these nighttime snacking behaviors are good ol’ HABITS.  Often they are not a response to actual hunger, but a response to an emotional or mental need.  During my evening I find that if there is a treat available, I’m going to take part, whether I am hungry or not (always not).  Now, I’ve typically planned this into my day, which you could do too (a well-balanced intake with a few discretionary calories).  The problem arises when even after I’ve enjoyed my portioned treat, the fridge, freezer, or pantry still calls my name and for no other reason than because I’m just relaxing and well, snacking just “fits.”

I have had evenings where I cave to my craving and eat again – really?!  I even think while I’m eating it that I’m not hungry and I don’t really need it, but not even those thoughts are enough to stop me.  I had to enlist an actual replacement behavior.  The winner…brushing my teeth!  Making the decision to be done and cleaning my pearly whites marks a distinct line mentally for me that I am finished snacking.  Completing this simple task alone reduces the desire to continue snacking, one step toward breaking a habit.

If you are someone who struggles with food choices and snacking as soon as you get home from work, think about two things.  First, be sure you are not depriving yourself throughout the workday – eat a good breakfast and plan a balanced lunch and snack.  Second, don’t fight snacking.  When you’re fighting it, but not avoiding it, your snack becomes grazing, and more food and calories than you’d like.  Instead, plan in a snack when you get home from work to tide you over until dinner.  Planning it in gives you permission to eat.  It’s no longer a forbidden act and when planned you can make it good for you (for instance some fruit and yogurt or a slice of whole grain peanut butter toast).

In the late evening, recognize when you are succumbing to a habit and find a replacement activity.  Try brushing your teeth.  It’s funny how brushing your teeth can turn into an invisible barrier to extra snacking.  If all else fails, arm yourself with control.  Have one serving of your snack versus allowing a free for all with the entire bag.  Any baby step you take is a good step.  It means you’ve recognized that you need to make a change and you want to make a change.  Give yourself some credit…you can do it!