IF YOU ARE like most people, going on a diet probably topped your list of resolutions for 2007. The problem is that most people fall off the proverbial diet wagon about as quickly as they get on.
(In fact, almost two weeks into the new year you might have fallen off already!)
I have tried my fair share of diets, too. However, I've discovered that the secret to dieting success is cheating. Yes, that's right. I said it and I mean it: I'm a big-time cheater.
Through years of trial and error, I have come to realize that if I eat sensibly 80 to 85 percent of the time, I can sneak in treat cheats 15 to 20 percent of the time and not wreck my diet or my waistline.
Besides, with cheating I don't get bored or frustrated. Instead, I maintain full freedom and flexibility to have it my way.
If you want to be a big-time cheater while winning at the losing game, I recommend that you follow my six simple guidelines:
1. Make a calorie budget. Just as you do with your money, keep a budget of your calories. Figure out how many you need to take in daily to either maintain or lose weight.
For example, a typical recommendation for a sedentary woman would be 1,200 to 1,500 calories a day to lose one to two pounds a week. To maintain her weight, she'd consume 2,000 or more calories per day.
2. Write it down. Reconcile your calorie intake every day. Like ATM-machine transactions, add up all your withdrawals and deposits so you'll know when you've reached your limit. That way, there are no bounced checks or guessing games, and you'll know precisely how much you have "spent."
3. Cheat and win. You can be naughty and still look nice. Like fun money, limit your cheats to 10 to 20 percent of your total caloric budget. Budget your cheats monthly, weekly or daily - as little or as often as you like, but never going over 20 percent.
For example, if you are on a 1,500-calorie-a-day diet, give yourself a cheat calorie budget of 150 to 300 calories (10-20 percent) a day. If your daily budget is 2,000 calories, that means you can splurge on 200 to 400 calories and still wriggle into your skinny jeans.
4. When you cheat, go for the gusto. Why eat some cardboard cake or a yucky nutrition bar when you really want candy?
You can eat one standard Snickers bar for 280 calories (fewer calories than many over-priced protein bars).
If ice cream is your indulgence of choice, you could serve up to a half-cup of Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie Organic Ice Cream for 270 calories or have one cup (two servings) of a low-fat ice cream like Edy's Slow Churned Cookies in Cream for 240 calories.
If you'd rather eat cake, you could blow your entire wad on a Trader Joe's Mini Carrot Cake (5 ounces) for 400 calories.
When you decide to have a cheat treat, make sure it's really good and really worth it. Of course, you'll have to be the judge of that.
5. Think progress, not perfection. Don't beat yourself up trying to be perfect - nobody is. Guilt leaves a bitter aftertaste.
6. Forbid nothing. Go ahead. Delight, gratify, splurge, pig out, indulge. Cheat. You can have anything your heart desires, if you just manage your portions. In 2007 make "less is more" your mantra.
You're invited
Come see me at the South Beach Diet Beach in a Box Cafe from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Jan. 18 at the Reading Terminal Market and Jan. 19 on Chestnut Street between 16th and 17th streets. You can get in your morning workout and have breakfast or lunch on the "beach."
Fittest over 40
Are you fit and over 40 - or do you know someone who is?
Prevention magazine and ABCNewsNow.com are conducting a national search for the healthiest woman age 40-plus. Go to www.prevention.com/
pictureofhealth and explain in 250 words or less what good health means to you. You will also upload a 1-minute "Picture of Health" testimonial video. Deadline for entries is Feb. 9.
A public vote will choose the winner from five finalists, who will be profiled in the June issue of Prevention and on abcnewsnow.com. The winner will appear on "Good Morning America" in May, win $5,000 herself and another $5,000 for her favorite charity. She'll also appear in and guest edit the October issue of Prevention.
Explained Liz Vaccariello, Prevention editor-in-chief, "We're looking for women who are healthy inside and out: smart and informed, who eat right (most of the time), exercise with some regularity, have managed a unique health challenge, and yet still keep their lives clicking, women who inspire the people around them to live healthier lives."*