What do you class as dieting

Three meals a day , breakfast at 8am, lunch at 1 o’clock, dinner at 6pm, does your lifestyle fit in with these times? If not, are you already putting pressure on yourself, thinking that you cant be eating properly?

Eat when it suits you. You actually burn up a little more energy by eating smaller meals regularly, than one or two large meals.

BREAKFAST

Dont tell yourself you dont have time to eat, believe me, when you are dieting properly you will go to bed thinking about that breakfast! Is you still think you dont have time – get up five minutes earlier.

If you have to get the children ready for school, take five minutes to eat a bowl of cereal with them, or after getting them to school take a more leisurely quarter of an hour to start your day correctly.

There is time, if you make time! Those of you who go out to work, make time to eat before you go, or take something with you, so that you can have it in your break.

Otherwise everyone around you seems to be eating those goodies and there is just you left with nothing to eat.

LUNCH TIME

At home, lunch time shouldnt be a problem – but you can make it so by simply eating the same thing every day. You know the Ryvita, apple, lump of cheese and yoghurt – then you get fed up with this and so you get fed up with the diet. You wouldnt have the same thing every day if you werent dieting, so dont now.

EVENING MEALS

The key here is to plan. Dieting deserves some planning and even if you dont plan breakfast or lunch time meals, make sure you know what you are having for your evening meals. Look forward to them, treat yourself to something that you know you will enjoy – of course it must be food allowed within your diet. Indulge yourself, you deserve the best!!

On our diets, there is nothing in moderation you cant have, so use the diets to the full. If its not in the free or weighed foods section you can still have whatever you want as long as its allowed for out of your treats – easy isnt it!!

Now think about your own lifestyle. Are you at work all day, are you at home all day, are you busy during the day, but have trouble during the evening, do you keep busy during the week but have trouble during weekends?

You know our saying, if its not nailed down or gone mouldy theres a chance we will still eat it, (and we have been known to cut the mould off). If you are busy, you are less likely to cheat. If you have time on your hands, you may find chocolate in your moth – so be like the girl guide or boy scout and be prepared either by keeping busy or saving your treats for just such a time.

Remember, you arent hungry you are just craving. Stretch those cheats, remember – you take care of the treats and the free foods will take care of your diets. If you have used all your daily treats and you have to have something – then do, but not extra treats. Use all those free foods – on the fatbuster diet – a banana, tinned friut, or an extra slice of bread. On the low fat diet – yoghurt or jacket potato. Who has cereals last thing at night?? Dont have treats, get the diet out and look  at what you can have.

Plan that shopping. Dont go on an empty stomach!! Dont pick things up that are going to temp you, just have that cup of coffee!!

Adapt your own recipe books – every one even Delia Smiths can usually be adapted.

One downfall isnt going to break the diet. You arent a failure, if you fall down you get back up again, only if you stay down. Take each day at a time.