Weight Maven

Great minds think alike? Yoni Freedhoff on the difference between a diet “cheat” and a life “choice”:

Sure I believe that all choices need to be informed, and to inform a dietary choice, if weight’s a consideration, quantity and calories may well matter, but the simple fact that you decided that food was a pleasure in your life? Well if you can’t make that choice from time to time I’d argue you’re cheating on living a realistic life, and that cheat’s probably more likely to lead your diet to fail than any other.

And Darya Pina on 5 things to consider before eating something naughty:

In my opinion, the purpose of food should be to optimize quality of life. Food is delicious, it makes you healthy and brings you closer to friends and loved ones. At any given meal, I try my best to maximize each of these goals. And if it falls short in one, I try to make it up in another. … Ideally you should get your healthstyle to a place where you can occasionally go a little wild without it having a significant impact on your health goals.

Check out Darya’s post for her tips, but I think the question really boils down to a question from a chick flick: Are you eating to feel better? Or are you eating to feel even better?

If your answer to the first question is yes frequently, then maybe it’s worth giving diet and exercise a rest and focusing your energies on either learning better coping skills *or* addressing what’s causing the need to cope with food.