Sunday, January 19, 2014

Thoughts on Deprivation ~ Mighty Mommy Monday #4


Over the past month I have seen so many posts from friends and pages on Facebook about diet changes, and all I can think is that many many people are setting themselves up for failure by depriving themselves. One person is only having fresh juice two meals a day while another is following a strict low-carb plan. Somebody else is cutting out gluten, but to another that's not enough and all grains need to be eliminated. Others are eliminating dairy, or meat, or fruit, or (insert diet taboo du jour). I have to say that I know myself, and I know that I would not personally be successful on any of these deprivation plans. In fact, I think the only reason I've been successful over the past year is that I don't deprive myself of anything! I don't have allergies or intolerances to any of these food groups, so I see no reason to eliminate them from my diet. 

Now, that's not to say that I eat whatever I want. I do impose limits on myself for portion sizes when I want to enjoy a piece of birthday cake at a party or when I get to go out or have takeout. But mostly I look to make healthier substitutions for things that I enjoy. I've found and made recipes for healthier versions of cheesecake, french fries, macaroni and cheese... and I enjoy them. I don't feel deprived and I don't ever say "I can't eat that" because I can! I can eat anything I want, but sometimes I do decide that junk is not worth it.

The only thing that I have truly eliminated is diet soda and diet iced tea, which I used to have about once or twice a week. I don't know if it was due to the sodium or if it was due to drinking more water as a replacement, but I've found that cutting it out has contributed to my success. But again, I'm not an all or nothing type of dieter. If it's a rare occasion that I get to go out to dinner, I may have a soda as a treat. (I have never been interested in alcohol, coffee or tea because I just don't like them.)

My advice to anyone embarking on a journey of healthier eating is to think about what is realistic for your life. If you really enjoy eating a variety of foods then maybe you shouldn't try to cut things out. If you can be successful and still enjoy your favorites, then do so!

In other news, I swam my second mile of the year, with a time of 39:30. I'm still kind of shocked that I'm able to swim a mile continuous freestyle when a year ago I couldn't even make one length of the pool. It's amazing what a difference a year can make!!! I've discovered that one of my great joys of the weekend is waking up and putting on my swimsuit. I can't wait until summer when I can wear a suit every day -- because I will be able to swim every day, for fun or for exercise. I'm really looking forward to swimming with my boys this summer... Who else is daydreaming about SUMMER???


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