Dieting.

It’s a four-letter word with -ing attached. Ugh.  But it’s January and so many people are thinking about it.  Since I started working with healthy lifestyle and weight loss programs a few years ago, I’ve done a lot of thinking and researching about what makes one person be a successful dieter.  

Of all the things I have read, I have narrowed it down to the one thing that makes someone be a successful dieter: controlling temptation.  That’s right—controlling temptation.  I don’t think willpower really truly exists.  It boils down to the number of temptations each person experiences.

Let me explain.  Let’s say that every person who is dieting cheats on their diet after 20 temptations.  If you face 20 temptations before lunch, your diet is over.  However, if you face 20 temptations after 2 weeks before you cheat on your diet, that is 2 weeks where you’ve made really good progress!

Successful dieters arrange their lives so they are not faced with frequent temptations.  How do you do this?  If your temptation is cookies, don’t have them in the house.  If your temptation is picking up fast food on your way home from work, make sure you plan a menu and have easy, quick, and healthy meals planned.  You can’t control when a co-worker (or a patient) brings lovely treats to the office, but you don’t have to stare at it all day.  Take your bite or two and put the rest away.  

And that reminds me, I have chocolate stashed in my desk drawer that I forgot about… Out of sight, out of mind.  But that chocolate is going to stay there.  At least for today.

What are other ways for you to avoid temptation?