“When I’m on total I’m on it. I stick it the plan 100% but when I’m not I struggle to even set boundaries let alone stick to them.
What I think is interesting is when I am on total I dream about fresh healthy foods like a green salad or a bowl of strawberries yet this is not what I eat when off plan so I’ve started to make a list of all the things that I feel like eating …example … A beef tomato …. Cucumber etc then see if when I do introduce food I can use this to guide me”.
Lizzie L

This binary or black and white thinking is very common among habitual dieters.
It often creates an on it or off it behaviour that suggests we are a failure as soon as one single thing goes wrong.
The number on the scales is often just the excuse needed to say…’That’s it. This diet isn’t working’ or ‘I just can’t seem to lose weight’
Then, like many victims of bullying we bow down to the power of another believing they have won and we have failed.
I may as well eat what I want as everyone thinks I’ll put the weight back on anyway. I may as well prove them right.
Do you see yourself as either on a diet, restricting yourself from foods you love; or off the diet, eating “forbidden foods” you enjoy?
When we think in black and white, we get angry and tell ourselves we screwed up (again). We become down, deflated and focus on the negatives. We see losing weight as an impossible task and may even abandon our plan completely at that moment. We end up wallowing away the rest of the day with our head in the refrigerator and worrying what we are going to see when we find the nerve to step on the scales.

People who live in this agony often fail to consider that there are choices between all or nothing. They have a difficult time getting back on the weight loss/management train when a deviation occurs. They view their day as ruined instead of accepting that one decision was just one mistake and it’s time to forget about it and move forward. When repeated over time, this kind of thinking creates a consistent barrier to success.
Try to separate what you do from who you are. List your options and keep them close at all times. This is not a quick game its a lifestyle change and that is going to take time. Dont give yourself a hard time if you dont succeed every time but celebrate every time you succeed. Just dont do it with food or drink!

Thankyou Zoe. I could relate to all that you wrote there. I will keep this and I find it is helpful to re read it.
That was really helpful.
Thankyou Zoe. I can relate to all that you wrote. I will keep this snd reread it and use it as a tool.
That was really helpful.