Why is it so hard for me?


Those of us who are overweight continue to wonder why it is so hard for us to plan, execute and stick with any type of diet program.

In all honesty, they will all work. That's right, every single one of those programs you see advertised on television will help you lose weight. The catch, however, is that you will have to make them work. That's the hard part.

Will Power vs. Want Power

Do we go off of our diets because we are weak, selfish, or lacking in willpower? No. It's really very simple. People like to eat. All people. Everyone. Think back to some of your happiest moments. You might be surprised to find that there was food involved. Prom night, where did you take your date for dinner? Your wedding? Bet your cake was really nice. Or, what about the birth of your first child? Did you get a nice fruit basket from the hospital?

If food were not so popular we would not be inundated with television commercials for both Double Meat Whoppers and Metabolife. Americans in the year 2000 want their cake, and they want to eat it too.

Is that a bad thing. Well....yes, and no.

The good news is that we need food to survive. We need to eat and we deserve those yummy chili cheese fries, or that double meat hamburger, or maybe your weapon of choice is a chocolate cherry sundae? The bad news is that we don't need it all, at once. You can have your hamburger (but, please, keep it a single and try mustard instead). You can have that sundae, just make it low fat yogurt and pineapple or strawberry, if you please. You can even have the chili cheese fries, but...well, ok, I lied, you can't have those. Not if you want to ever wear a bathing suit in public. However, you can have a small frito pie with low fat cheese and fat free chili. Will that do?

My point is not to upset those of you who are addicted to chili cheese fries, it's to point out to you that the food we eat, in and of itself, is not "bad". The fault does not lie with the food, but with the eater. Enjoy your food, in small, optional choices, such as a hamburger, but no fries, or a shake, but no dessert. Trade choices and make at least half of them healthy. It's a plan you can live, and eat with.

The copyright of the article Why is it so hard for me? in Healthy Eating is owned by Betty O. Spangle. Permission to republish Why is it so hard for me? in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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