Golden rules of dieting

The golden rule of dieting is to make rules that can be kept. This means that the must be practical, flexible and able to withstand weddings, weekends and holidays. I would recommend a daily energy intake of between 4.2 and 5.0 MJ (1000-1200 kcal) with at least two planned ‘break-outs’ per week. One planned treat should be at a designated time and the other should act as a ‘floating’ break. If the dieter is caught on the hop by an impulsive break-out, she can then convert it into her pre-planned treat. This limits the amount of food eaten, removes guilt and prevents ‘blow-out’ binges. The dieter can still perceive herself as a good dieter because she is sticking to her own rules. If possible, the designated break-out should coincide with the trigger times of maximum temptation. These occur most commonly in the evenings, at weekends and during times of stress and change.

Many women report that they are more vulnerable to carbohydrate cravings in the pre-menstrual week and it may be an idea to relax the diet for 1 week in 4 weeks as a preventive measure at this time. The ‘break-out’ food should include all the forbidden goodies like chocolates, biscuits and other dangerous delectables. There should, however, be a pre-planned upper limit and this should err on the side of generosity. The whole idea is to teach the dieter that all foods can be eaten and enjoyed on a regular basis.

No food is absolutely forbidden and, therefore, the sense of deprivation is lessened. When the treat is over, the dieter knows that within days she can experience the glorious sensations once more.
The daily diet should be delicious. It has to lack calories and must, therefore, be enhanced by taste and variety. The palate should be pampered with the finest and freshest of fare. The dieter’s plate must take priority. Those family members with energy intake to spare can take care of yesterday’s bake and suffer the burnt offerings. Food that is not enjoyable should never be eaten. I remember a failed dieter telling me she would buy a big bag of chocolate every evening and then, as some kind of atonement, add in a low-fat yoghurt and cottage cheese! This was, of course, only adding to her energy problem.

The dieter must train herself to indulge in extravagant non-fattening foods. She should splurge out on unusual fish and fowl. Cheap chicken and cod should give way more often to the less cautious pheasant and the low-calorie grouse. Most dieters are notoriously stingy when it comes to spending money on the diet. They shy away from grapes or kiwi fruits, preferring the safe, thrifty substitutes, apples and bananas. The great paradox is that when they decide to break the diet, they can shell out quite unconcernedly for the most lavish and fattening of foods.

Meals should be eaten three or four times daily at times of maximum peace and quiet. Breakfast in bed, if possible. Take up the tray with the pre-ordained breakfast, the red rose and the paper. The evening meal should be an exquisite, enjoyable experience. How often this is not the case! The more usual scenario features a tired, tense housewife trying to get the whole sordid affair over as quickly as possible. Her hungry, hassled husband needs an instant food fix. He cannot be deprived of history in the making and so requires peace and solitude when he tunes in compulsively to the 6 o’clock news. The starving hordes of cranky children need to be stuffed with food to ensure their silence and his comfort. The cook is getting more frazzled by the minute and gulps down any old makeshift meal that comes her way. She contents herself with scraps. After 1 hour, the kitchen glistens, the cherubs sleep and her happy husband, hushed with food, is whistling softly in the shower. The dissatisfied dieter is already dreaming of chocolate. This sad state of affairs could be reversed with a little forward planning. The children could be fed their favourite dinner at 5 o’clock, long before breaking point. Husband could watch his 6 o’clock news free from the hustle and bustle of meal time. The cook could treat herself to a relaxing pre-dinner soak in a bath, happy in the knowledge that her modern partner is bonding with and bedding down their cherished offspring. Why read more