Diet Disasters - How to Fight Them, How to Avoid Them by Janiss Garza

How did it happen? You were being so good about eating healthy - now you're face to face with a whole coconut cream pie or a burger and fries from the nearest fast food joint. A sudden craving, a time crunch or a lengthy dinner menu can bring one on - diet disasters happen. What can you do when faced with a situation that seems almost guaranteed to knock you off the healthy eating track? Here are solutions to the most common diet disasters.

Potential Disaster: I always wind up eating the whole bag of snacks - but my family will riot if I stop buying them.

Solution: You don't have to eat the whole bag. But chances are you will - or you will eat more than you planned on - if you eat out of that big bag. Even if it's a low fat, low carb or otherwise healthy snack, the calories will add up. The solution, however, is easy. As soon as you get home with that bag of chips, puffs or other snack, look at the Nutrition Facts to see how many servings are in that bag. Then take the same number of sealable sandwich baggies and divide the snacks evenly into each one. So next time you want something to munch on, just grab one of those single serving baggies!

Potential Disaster: I've just got to have a piece of cake/ pie/ pastry/ other high caloric indulgence.

Solution: Okay, so you can't get your mind off that yummy looking apple pie or double chocolate layer cake - so have it. We all need a treat now and again. But be smart about it. Don't go to the market and get a whole cake or a package containing a half dozen pastries. Go to a coffee shop or bakery, order one piece to go and take it home. And don't eat it out of the Styrofoam container - set it on a plate and eat it with a real fork, not the plastic one they stuffed in the bag. In fact, if you've got good china, use that. An indulgence should be a special occasion, something you do rarely, and it should be treated in a special way. Really enjoy that piece of cake or pastry - savor it. Eat lightly for the rest of the day to make up for the extra load of calories. Enjoy the moment and go back to your usual, healthy way of eating as soon as you're done.

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BIO:

Janiss Garza is a journalist and fitness consultant in Los Angeles, California. She is editor-in-chief of All Spirit Fitness, an online resource for mind-body-spirit health. You'll find the site at http://www.allspiritfitness.com.

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