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What's your favourite "forbidden food"? Chocolate? Cheese? Chicken parm? Whatever you love love LOVE—and we're talking about foods with high SmartPoints® values here—the flexibility of WW FreestyleTM means that you don't have to banish them from your life. As your WW Freestyle weekly says, there's good reason to eat what you want, honest! Banning a food outright makes us more likely to crave and eat that "forbidden" food. On top of that, we wind up feeling guilty and ashamed afterward. Deprivation doesn't work. Here's what does.
Use your (counter) intuition
If you think about other appealing things in your life that were off-limits—when you were a kid, for instance—their inaccessibility only made them more enticing. It's the same with foods that you love but worry about overdoing. While it might seem counterintuitive, welcoming rather than closing the door on a "high-risk" food is a better way to manage it. For one thing, the mystique vanishes when you realize you can eat it. And for another, when you no longer feel guilty about it, you can move on and create a specific plan (see your Weekly) for when and how you'll enjoy the food, instead of leaving it to chance (and we all know how that's likely to go!) when it comes into your sightlines.
Be picky
Let's say French fries are your jam. Maybe our Garlic, Rosemary & Lemon-Oven Fries will do the trick. But maybe what you really want are those shoestring fries from the local fast-food joint. In that case, make room for them in your Budget. Trying to substitute something doesn't always work. And make sure it’s worthy of you. Stale, cold doughnut or warm, fresh-baked croissant—which would you choose? (And if the first bite tells you it’s meh at best, chuck the rest.)
Work the program
Rely on zero Points® foods to give you added flexibility. With so many to choose from you have options for every meal and snack of the day. Allot some of your weeklies for favourite foods; save up rollovers, too. Planning for them and pre-tracking can keep you on course.
Savour every bite
Really enjoy it. Eat slowly and pay attention to the colours, taste, texture, and aroma. That will make the experience memorable and pleasurable. And it might also make you less likely to overdo it! When you eat mindfully and slowly, the body has more time to signal to the brain that it is full, you enjoy your food completely, and you feel more satisfied when you finish eating.
Remember, this is a lifestyle change, not a short-term fix. The WW Freestyle program helps nudge you to an overall healthy pattern of eating, and that means the occasional dessert, cheeseburger, martini. If it’s not livable over the long run, you won’t stick with it.