Have Your Pizza AND Eat it Too!

Diets don’t work.  There, I’ve said it.  When we’re told not to eat a certain thing, what is it we instantly crave?  That specific item.  Adkins and no carbs, all I wanted was a potato!  Vegetarian, all I wanted was a McDonald’s double cheese burger!  Cabbage soup diet, all I wanted was anything but cabbage soup! I can’t help but think of my Aunt Duke.  When she was going through chemo, she couldn’t have raw vegetables.  Of course, all she wanted then was a big salad or a piece of fruit.  That right there proves you crave what you can’t have!

Just look at the first part of the word “diet”.  It’s die.  That’s why I refer to my new lifestyle not as a diet (after all, it’s not for a specific period of time, I’m not done when the Biggest Loser is done).  I’m doing something I can live with for the rest of my life.  I’m not “dieting”; I’m “living”!  I’m on a live-it!

All of that being said, I mentioned in my last post that I’ve been craving pizza.  It’s been for a couple weeks now, and nothing has made the craving go away.  My flatbread pizzas are good, but they do not kill the craving for a really cheesy pizza.  I thought I would be able to satiate my craving Monday night at the Movie Tavern by ordering one of their 10 inch pizzas.  I had around 1,000 calories left for the day and thought that would more than take care of it.  Think again, a 10 inch cheese pizza is 1,600 calories.  Yes, I could have eaten just a half; but I didn’t trust myself to be able to stop.  I ended up getting their mini cheeseburgers and fries which were very good, but they weren’t a pizza.

Today, I was able to feed my craving.  Knowing what I had eaten for breakfast and what I would eat for dinner, I found I could have an individual size pizza from Donatos and a nice side salad.  Total, my lunch came to 877 calories.  That’s pretty hefty for a lunch, but I planned for it.  That is the key.  I planned.  I didn’t need to eat half of a large pizza to calm my craving.  The individual size pizza was just enough to satisfy that hunger, and it ensured I didn’t do something stupid.  Look how fabulous!

By George!  I think she’s got it!