Food Deprivation

I was reading an article in the latest Better Homes and Gardens Magazine (not a magazine a read on a regular, but their weight loss edition some-how peaked my interest) when I came across a topic on the subject of food deprivation.  According to a quote by Jean Harvey-Berino, Ph.D., R.D., one mistake people often make when dieting is denying themselves of the foods they love, such as desserts or bread.  As further quoted by Barbara Rolls, Ph.D and author of The Volumetrics Eating Plan, "if you deprive yourself of your favorite foods, you crave them, break, down, and end up with a loss of control.  Rolls goes on to call this the "What-the-hell effect' which results in an all out binge when faced with weak moments.  


According to Harvey-Berino, the road to successful weight loss is being patient with yourself, and yes, having that occasional detour along the way.


The message in this particular article is a strong and powerful one, and one that has really helped me on my weight loss journey to date.  For someone who has literally tried every diet known to man, the diets/programs that I've really struggled with are the ones which either cut out whole food groups, or limit the amount and type of foods you can have while dieting.  On the other hand, the programs that I've had the most success with are program such as Weight Watchers or the Biggest Loser Diet where you don't deprive yourself of anything, but, in fact, find a way to work your favorite treats into your diet.  As a result of this simple practice, I've found it much easier to control my diet and have not had those all out binge moments I've had with deprivation based diets.  


photo-source: shine.yahoo