Years ago, I really started trying to eat better. I followed the expert advice of eating fewer fried foods, more produce, whole grains, smaller portions. Instead of eating out for most of my meals, I cooked at home. There was no immediate or drastic weight loss, but I felt better about what I was consuming. While I readily admit that I have a 2-Chewy-Chips-Ahoy-a-day habit that I will not apologize for, I believe that I usually do very well limiting junk food and portion sizes. Then, some days...
Because I don't eat out often, I feel excused for overeating when I do. Even though I almost always box half of the meal immediately, half meals at most restaurants are still huge. This is not even an option with family-style dining, where I never stop at one serving. But truly, my greatest weakness is dessert. I will view the dessert menu before entrees. I rarely share dessert. I rarely leave any dessert over to take home. I do this even though I am fully aware that the dessert could very well meet my caloric intake for the whole day.
I do sometimes have days where my portions remain small. All 112 of them. Take one date night where Husband and I stayed home with a rented movie, takeout burritos, and candy. Since it was a giant Chipotle burrito, I only ate a third of it. Then I had some tortilla chips. And some more chips. Then I ate some of my candy, stopped when I thought I'd had enough, and put the bag down. Then I ate some more chips. Then I ate some of Husband's candy. Then I ate more of my candy. Then more of his. I can quit any time!
I've read that you shouldn't beat yourself up for lapses in good eating habits. Just face up to your mistakes and get back on track tomorrow. But if tomorrow's breakfast is last night's leftover pizza and ice cream? Well...you might as well confess that you are not a professional dieter.
