Indulgence and Weight Loss

I have learned over the years that having little indulgences actually help me to lose weight.

Sometimes it is a "healthy" indulgence--which I think really depends on one's definition of healthy--such as extra fruits (because I love fruit), or a piece or two of good dark chocolate.

Sometimes the indulgence will be more, well, indulgent, like wine or beer or good bread. Still, not horrible for you in moderation.

Then there are the official "poison foods" that contain white sugar, white flour, high fructose corn syrup and all those other "sins" found in the grocery store. My favorite in this group is ice cream. I have a friend who loves canned cranberry sauce. Whatever the food is, even these can be indulgences that actually assist in dropping fat.

How can that be? Part of it is mental attitude--if by not having that special treat in moderation you are going to feel deprived, then down the road at some point a binge will come. When the binge hits, you will be worse off. The key is paying attention to how you feel about the food. And moderation, of course.

So if you love ice cream, like I do, then once in a while you should have it. There is nothing more depressing than being told (by yourself or someone else) that you can never have that again. If you love red rope licorice or french bread or canned cranberry sauce, let yourself have a little when you really want it.

By allowing yourself to have it, you are letting your subconscious know that it is a possibility. That permission alone helps reduce the cravings for it because it is no longer "forbidden fruit."