Tell Giselle: Diet is a four-letter word Part 2

Continuing with last week’s column about someone who wanted to drop some pounds before an upcoming event and wanted to learn how best to begin a weight-loss program, this also answers a query: “How do I stop or manage my cravings? I cannot live without chocolate and potato chips.”

The focus will be on the real meaning of the word diet, and how to apply it to your health goals.

Diet in my playbook stands for “Don’t Indulge Every Time”.

This approach has been an important guiding principle for me, one that I have shared with countless others who want to know my secret, my special sauce so-to-speak, for remaining slender year after year.

A rule I adhere to is this: I simply do not indulge every time I eat.

I make choices.

The most significant choice when it comes to my body is choosing not to treat it like it were a toddler throwing a tantrum who wants what it wants when it wants it.

Just as a responsible parent corrals a child’s runaway emotions and teaches them appropriate ways to deal with and express their wants, needs and expectations, each person must learn how to deal with and corral cravings and compulsive eating if they intend to get off the frustrating roller coaster of dieting and regaining the lost pounds soon afterward.

I make conscious choices because I am committed to minimizing my risks of facing heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure and suffering from metabolic syndrome. One extra positive to this practice is a cost-savings in health care…