During this indulgent holiday season, we often find ourselves faced with an abundance of food choices that can wreak havoc with our weight. Somewhere along the way I developed the Rule of Two if I am bent on maintaining my weight, which is most of the time, and the Rule of One if I am trying to lose weight.
I don't believe in dieting in the strict sense of cutting out food groups like carbs, or counting every calorie that enters your mouth. It's not realistic for me to maintain that, day in and day out for the rest of my life. Let's face it, I love to eat! And I have a slight problem being told I can't have something.. it just makes me want it more. So these rules keep me in check MOST of the time,(there are obviously going to be times when I fail miserably, but as long as I can get back on track by the next meal, the damage is minimal), while allowing me to indulge in whatever it is I want.
Simply put, the Rule of Two is that I may only have TWO of the indulgent item. TWO cookies, TWO breadsticks, TWO pieces of pizza. This is sometimes STILL way too many calories, but as it is only applied to indulgent days, hopefully on my non-indulgent days, I am eating much less. This usually works.. I can usually do this... unless it's pie... I LOVE pie.. and pineapple cake... and well, it's not a perfect system. More of a guideline.
Some things fall automatically into the Rule of ONE category, ie: PIE should!, cobbler, ice cream, lasanga, due to their size or greater number of calories. Really rich desserts I can usually easily just have one of. Just use your common sense. If it's dripping with fat, cheese, or butter, maybe you ought to have just a LITTLE.
If I am trying to seriously lose weight, then I decrease the rule to ONE on indulgent days too. This keeps me from feeling deprived and yet limits the damage.
Or leave the room, feel deprived and LOSE weight! That works really well too.
It's portion control that you don't have to think too hard about. Eat, but eat small.
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