Make Your Goal Consistent Eating Habit |
||
|
|
||
|
We have
all been raised in a society that believes if a little is good, more
must be better—money, vitamins, you name it. So, if dropping to 25
percent or 30 percent of calories from fat in eating habits is good,
wouldn't lower be even better? Isn't no fat the ultimate goal? While
we've been programmed to believe this, it's not the mentality we need
for weight management to prevent diabetes. The real
secret to finding long-term success in healthy behaviors is building
habits you can live with for the rest of your life. Consistency,
remember? Although 10 percent of calories from fat sounds great—the
pounds will just fall off, diabetes wouldn't even think of striking
you—you need to ask yourself if it's a habit you can maintain forever.
Odds are, it isn't. Besides, the body does need some fat. And this
doesn't say anything about your will power or lack of it. It's just
reality. Maintaining a very low fat or no fat eating plan indefinitely
is an almost impossible feat for anyone. So the best idea is to start
at 30 percent of calories from fat and drop this number lower (but not
below 20 percent of calories from fat) as you feel ready Low fat eating
is a habit you want not just for three weeks or three months but for
the rest of your life. The other reality to consider when thinking about
reducing fat is that gradual changes are better and easier than drastic
changes. You've lived with your current habits for a long time. It
takes little steps, added up over time, to make big changes in these
habits. So again, starting at 30 percent of calories from fat is the
right thing to do. Then you can cut back a few fat grams in two weeks.
Then in a month you cut back a few more fat grams. Then a few more come
spring. Soon you'll find yourself with a much lower fat intake. And it if it takes a
year or two to get to your goal, it's okay All along, you're making
improvements, you're headed in the right direction, and you are staying
on track. In the end, the important question to ask yourself is not "How low
can I go?" but "How long can I keep it up?" That's the real challenge. |
||