How to Know When Your Diet is Slipping

     The diet is on.  The diet is off.  It's on.  It's off.  On.  Off.  And so it goes, down through the decades of my life.  Periods of determination, optimism, and hunger pangs followed by periods of guilt, self-reproach and a full stomach.  Periods when stepping on the scale first thing in the morning starts the day off with delight, or, inevitably at a later date, with despair.

    For at least ninety percent of dieters, the weight we have lost is going to be regained, and then some.  How do we know when the tide is starting  to turn and our resolve is eroding?

     I knew mine was sliding away recently when I went out with two college friends.  We have been meeting for lunch for over thirty years.  They haven't gained a pound.  At lunch, they both stopped eating at the same tome.  "I'm stuffed!"  said one.  "I need a doggy bag," said the other.  I glanced at the table and noticed more than half of their portions remained on their plates.Then I looked at my empty plate and felt a little guilty.  But not guilty enough to ask the waitress for the dessert menu.

     So how do we know when we are starting to lose our grip on the battle?  Are there thought patterns emerging that are going to sabotage us?

Oh yes, there certainly  are.  If we pay close attention to our thinking when the aroma of freshly baked apple pie is too much to bear, we will find two distinct destroyers of will power:  rationalization and blaming others.
 psychology class?

• Practical: "I can't throw this food away and it won't fit in the freezer. I guess I'll have to eat it."  Or, "I'm paying a lot of money for this dinner out, and oh hell, I'm gonna eat it!"
• Healthful:  "Pasta is low-fat, filling and high in fiber, so I guess I'll have another bowl."  " I better eat another brownie so I'll have more energy."
• Religious:  "Doesn't it say somewhere in the Bible that you shouldn't hide your gifts under a bushel?  God certainly put Beethoven on earth for us to enjoy his divine music.  What about the man who created New York style cheesecake?  
• Intellectual:  Remember learning about those "self-actualized" people in psychology class in college?  Those folks at the pinnacle of intellectual development because they have satisfied all their lower needs.  I remember that they were at a place where  they could fully enjoy the pleasures of life, and I clearly remember they had a joy for eating and food.  Sounds like me.

Blaming others is further evidence of the decline of will power:

• Your husband: "He keeps bringing home cookies, ice cream, and candy for himself.  I tell him, 'Please, don't,' but he doesn't listen.  I tell him to hide them, but the Chips Ahoy keep turning up behind the Brillo pads in the closet and the Hershey bars are always between the phone books.  No wonder I can't lose weight,"
• The kitchen crew at work:  " I know the kids here at school love macaroni and cheese but when the cook brings me my lunch she always gives me a huge pile.  I would tell her to shrink it a little but I know her, and she'll be insulted.  She's temperamental .
• Restaurant owners:  Portions are getting bigger and bigger.  The fat content is too high.  Maybe people should sue them for making us all fat.

If you are a veteran dieter like me, I'm sure you can think of more people to blame and more excuses for falling off the wagon.  This stage will last until you notice those bulges again.  Then it's back to "the diet is on."