A Guide to Flexible Dieting

Then the problem hits. Maybe it’s something small, a slight deviation or dalliance. There’s a bag
of cookies and you have one or you’re at the mini mart and just can’t resist a little something that’s not on
your diet. Or maybe it’s something a little bit bigger, a party or special event comes up and you know
you won’t be able to stick with your diet. Or, at the very extreme, maybe a vacation comes up, a few
days out of town or even something longer, a week or two. What do you do?
Now, if you’re in the majority, here’s what happens: You eat the cookie and figure that you’ve
blown your diet and might as well eat the entire bag. Clearly you were weak willed and pathetic for
having that cookie, the guilt sets in and you might as well just start eating and eating and eating.
Or since the special event is going to blow your diet, you might as well eat as much as you can
and give up, right? The diet is obviously blown by that single event so might as well chuck it all in the
garbage. Vacations can be the ultimate horror, it’s not as if you’re going to go somewhere special for 3
days (or longer) and stay on your diet, right? Might as well throw it all out now and just eat like you want,
gain back all the weight and then some.