Along this fitness journey, I’ve heard a lot of “I don’t know how you do it, I love food too much” and “I could never restrict my diet, I can’t live without chocolate / ice cream / chips / cookies”.  Well, I THOROUGHLY love food. A lot. I’ve always been one of those who lives to eat, not eats to live. Training and competing have changed the way I look at food, and I’ve learned a lot along the way.

First – quitting cold turkey is tough. As adults, knowing that something is “off limits” will undoubtably only cause you to want it more. If part of your goal to lose weight involves never eating chocolate, when temptation gets the best of you and you have some, you’re likely to throw in the towel on the whole thing. Solution? Try cutting your quantities back, slowly reducing how much / how often you have the item. Go down to having it every other day, then every four days, then once a week. This will help your body adjust to the change of losing that item, and you’ll be in a better position mentally as you’ll still be enjoying it.

Second – do you need to fully eliminate it? You love chocolate… maybe too much. So you’ve decided to never eat it again. Is that necessary? *Personally,* I don’t think so. I truly believe that everything in moderation is the key to being healthy and happy. If that means you can’t keep a supply of chocolate bars in your house, but you allow yourself to go to the store and buy one on the weekend, then go for it (note, I did not say buy one every day!). Who knows, maybe one weekend will pass when you don’t need / want one!

Third – find a healthier alternative. There are so many healthy foods which can satisfy a sweet craving. Berries in low fat yogurt, rice cakes with natural peanut butter, Greek yogurt mixed with cocoa powder, or even homemade ice cream (trust me, it’s soooo easy – even I make it). Sometimes, getting creative in the kitchen is all it takes, and you may find a new, better treat!

The bottom line is that you need to do what works for YOU. Maybe none of this is pertinent, and that’s fine. I just want you to think about the best method to meet your goals or feel your best. Questions??  Let me know!

And yes, I crave foods – usually salty stuff… and hot dogs… I wish I was joking.