There is this thing we dieters do in the evening, or even the days, before we start our DIET.  We eat that last supper of everything we’re convinced we are not going to eat, or do not think we will be able to eat while on the diet.  (Read more on my thoughts about being ON a diet in entry called To All A Goodnight).

The flaw in that thinking is the belief that we won’t ever be able to eat the kinds of foods we love to indulge in.  So, we better get them in now.  Let me just say it:  that is an awful way to begin a new life of eating healthfully.  Underlying the last supper concept is the misguided belief that there is no room for “bad” foods in our diet.

Do not think of weight loss in terms of the numbers.  That kind of thinking leads to silly-ass diets like the Cookie diet.  Or, the grapefruit diet.  Those fad diets work because you cut your caloric intake, no other reason.  You are aiming to get to a healthy weight, feel more energy, look better in your clothes, and feel all-around good about yourself.  Okay, I’m not a doctor here, but you don’t have to be.   You just have to be bright about it.  You get to eat what you want.  You just have to work it in.  Yes, there are foods that may trigger a binge, but if that happens, then learn from it.  Fit them in.  Or, take a break for them for awhile until you’re feeling stronger.

We lose weight and keep it off when we relearn the way to eat.  Mindful eating is the best “fad” diet around.  Pay attention to what you’re eating.  Enjoy each and every bite and crumb of that piece of cheesecake.  Just don’t have it every night.  Work it in.

If I know I’m going out to eat out or have an indulgent meal, or day(s), I “subtract” the food from my week  before I ever get to the meal.

Case in point, my annual trek to the State Fair.  No way I’m going to count Points® or starve myself before la grande bouche of food-on-a-stick.  I eat indulgently, but mindful, and enjoy.  Read what I ate one year at the Great Minnesota Get-Together. That was four years ago.  I had a similar food-stravaganza this year, with one change:  I didn’t necessarily finish every portable entrée.  At the Oregon State Fair, for instance, one of my most adventuresome stick snacks was fried bacon on a stick.

Fried Bacon on a Stick

Which, by the way, was not as good as I thought it would be.  So, I took a couple of bites, had the bacon-on-a-stick experience, and tossed it.  One way or the other, it ends up in the trash anyway.  It was, by the way, nothing like the chocolate-covered bacon at the Minnesota State Fair they called “pig lickers”.

Pig Lickers at the Minnesota State Fair

Five crispy pieces of bacon, with just one end dipped in dark chocolate.  Kept in a cooler and served in a cone.  Yum yum!!   I shared them with my state fair-going friend, Steve.  I loved every minute of  those pig lickers.  When I returned from my summer vacation, I had gained a mere two pounds, which were shed within the week.  We gotta live, folks!  And, living without Pig Lickers is a day without sunshine.

My advice for tonight, being New Year’s Eve and possibly the evening before your resolve to “start that diet tomorrow”, is to just give yourself permission to eat exactly what you want.  Listen to your body, pay attention to when you’re full. It’s a perfect opportunity to experience what that feels like.  Nothing to lose, if you were planning anyway to make this evening your Last Supper!