I don’t like calling foods “bad.” Of course your diet should have a base of healthy foods, but referring to French fries, chocolate, and cake as “bad” means that you will feel guilty after you’ve eaten this “bad” food. I like to refer to higher fat or higher sugar foods as “splurge” foods. I think if you expect yourself to eat a perfect diet with only healthy foods 100% of the time, then you will fail. When you fail, you will feel guilt. When you feel guilt, you will get depressed and have a low view of yourself.
Take away the term “bad” when referring to foods. I eat ice cream, chocolate, and potato chips (I revealed that in the last blog). I don’t want to give them up. I will not give them up. I don’t feel that the food is bad or I’m bad when I eat the food, but I try to eat these foods in small amounts (I do that by buying smaller amounts or only eating these foods when I eat out, which is rarely). I realize that these foods are high in calories and low in nutrients. I try to fill my diet primarily with nutrient dense foods, but I don’t think it’s possible to do that 100% of the time.
Give yourself permission to splurge once a week. Take the guilt away from the splurge, and enjoy yourself! Allowing yourself to splurge even while losing weight or while maintaining a healthy body weight can help you feel sane in a world overflowing with splurge foods. After you have your splurge, get right back to eating healthy foods.