1. Make tempting foods less convenient to obtain. Research has shown that when food is in closer proximity to us, we will eat more of it. So don't keep bowls of candy on your desk at work, for example. When you're at a party, don't sit or mill around near the buffet table. Instead, take a plate of food with you to the other side of the room to eat and mingle. These may seem like insignificant changes, but they can really make a difference. Perhaps the best thing you can do to improve your diet is to rid your home of the foods that you know you need to eat less of. This doesn't mean you have to vow never to eat them again. If you want an ice cream sundae, you can allow yourself to go out and buy one at an ice cream shop. But keeping a half gallon in the freezer when you know you can't resist it is just foolish. The same goes for cookies, chips, soda, etc.
"Everything in moderation" is a popular platitude, but few seem to grasp its meaning. If you claim to only eat desserts occasionally, then there is no need to stock them in your pantry. The healthy staples of your diet should be the only foods you keep in your home. You will have plenty of opportunities to eat those other things at restaurants, social events, holiday gatherings, and other places where you have little or no control over the menu.
2. Cope with temptation in the moment. If you follow my advice above, you will minimize the frequency with which you have to face temptation from food. However, there will of course be times when you can't avoid it. The key to getting through these times with your waistline unscathed is having strategies to lessen the pull of the offending food. Let's take a sample scenario-- an office birthday party. Everyone else is eating cake and talking about how delicious it is. You're trying to eat healthier, and know that eating a highly caloric, dense combination of fat and sugar will not help you achieve your goals. But it looks enticing, and aromas of vanilla-scented cake and chocolate buttercream frosting are invading your nostrils and evoking pleasant childhood memories. How do you decline when you're offered a slice?
There are a few things you can do: a) remove yourself from the situation. Give your well wishes to the birthday girl and excuse yourself to work on some project back at your desk. b) Distract yourself by consuming something else. If there is a healthier option available, like fruit, have that. If not, try a cup of coffee, a diet soda, or a piece of gum. If you have another flavor in your mouth, it will be easier to forget about the cake. c) Remind yourself how you will feel after eating the cake (regretful) and after not eating it(proud, victorious).
3. Give in, sometimes. Although I don't agree with the blind acceptance of all foods as healthy "in moderation," I acknowledge that striving for perfection in eating is unrealistic at best and pathological at worst. Indulgences that are truly occasional may help you maintain an overall healthy eating pattern in the long-term and keep you from reaching a point where you burn out and simply lose the mental energy required to restrict your diet. But, there is a right way and a wrong way to give in to temptation. The wrong way is to wait until it happens by accident and then feel guilty about it. If you take this approach, then every day carries with it a possibility of straying from your plan. This, I think, makes it more difficult to stay on track because your brain is primed for giving in; every tempting food can potentially be eaten.
The better approach is to take a planned vacation from your usual, healthy diet. Once or twice per week, give yourself the freedom to eat something you normally wouldn't. Ideally, plan it ahead of time. Decide when you would most like to treat yourself, and for that one occasion, leave your concerns about nutrition at home. When you decide ahead of time to indulge, you remain in control. Rather than deviating from your plan, you adhere to it. It is not a failure, but rather a deserved and necessary pit-stop on the road to success. Cheesy metaphor or not, it's true.
