Dieting?

Dieting is a common goal for the New Year, but unfortunately, I think trying to make radical changes to your diet can make your moods more chaotic. Speaking for myself, when I try to eat much less food, I tend to get more anxious, have trouble sleeping, etc.

It's easier for me to replace a healthful food with an unhealthful food, than it is for me to focus on just eating less.

Having high expectations might just be setting yourself up for disappointment when you feel that you have 'failed' your diet plan.

What has worked for me -

1. Eat oatmeal some days instead of a bagel.

2. Sometimes, drink water or unsweetened tea instead of juice or milk.

3. Eat an apple or some other fruit/vegetable snack with my lunch.

What hasn't worked for me:

1. Decide not to eat before bedtime.  This advice is widely given, but I often have trouble falling asleep if I don't eat something before bedtime.  Or, I fall asleep but then wake up in the middle of the night or the early morning just starving (and grumpy).  So I feel better if I eat when my body tells me to eat, which often means a bedtime snack.

2. Decide to completely eliminate all 'bad' food from the house. Although this sounds like a good idea because we eat what we have around the house, it has one major flaw.... If we don't see anything tasty at home we may decide to grab some fast food! See, I don't live in an isolated world where all I have is my home kitchen.  I have fast food places all around me.  So although I do try to buy fewer 'bad' foods at the store, eliminating my favorite snacks altogether is just going to make it likely that I will want to get some food out.... which is probably worse than just not eating a perfect diet at home.

Above picture Creative Commons licensed and is from Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/di4b0liko/2260545180/