Be your own diet coach

YOU THINK … I’ll never be skinny anyway, so why not order the extra-large fries?
INSTEAD, TELL YOURSELF … I’m going to eat right and exercise because I can be fit at my size.

YOU THINK … Life’s short―I’m going to enjoy my favorite foods.
INSTEAD, TELL YOURSELF … I don’t need to use food for entertainment. I can spend my time doing other things besides eating.

YOU THINK … I already had an unhealthy lunch; I might as well get the pepperoni pizza for dinner.
INSTEAD, TELL YOURSELF … One meal will not mess up my lifestyle. I can move forward and make better choices next time.

YOU THINK … OK, just one more spoonful…
INSTEAD, TELL YOURSELF … This isn’t the last time I’ll ever have this food. I already enjoyed the taste; now it’s time to move on.

YOU THINK … She can eat that, so why can’t I?
INSTEAD, TELL YOURSELF … I’m my own person, and I will make my own food choices.

Sources: Wendy Bazilian, RD, co-author of The SuperfoodsRx Diet; Dawn Jackson Blatner, RD, spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association; Ellen Glovsky, PhD, RD, nutrition therapist, Boston; and David L. Katz, MD, co-founder of the Yale Prevention Research Center