For Rosemary Chiaverini, weight loss and gain had been a lifetime struggle. “I tried everything short of getting my stomach stapled and my mouth wired shut,” says the 50-year-old Sherman Oaks, California, resident. In 1995, when she reached 241 pounds, she decided to join Weight Watchers. There, she learned the principles of healthy eating and the tools for changing her eating habits. But she found that she needed some personalized strategies to make all that she learned work for her.
One of her strategies is to associate foods with special occa-
Q sions. She eats hamburgers and hot dogs only at barbecues, popcorn § only at the movies, and pasta only on nights when she goes to the “g theater. “I incorporate eating into the ambience of what I’m doing,” (§ she explains. “It gives the food officialness and meaning.” It also “g gives Rosemary license to indulge without going overboard.
On those occasions when she allows herself treats, Rosemary doesn’t settle for inferior-quality foods. If she craves chocolate, she doesn’t gobble down a cheap candy bar. She treks to a local Godiva shop, chooses six fancy chocolates, and has them wrapped, two to a box. Then, she eats only one box at a sitting. Likewise, if she wants ice cream, she doesn’t sit down with a pint container and a spoon. She heads for the local ice cream parlor and has her favorite flavor served to her in a pretty dish. “All of this reminds me that I’m being good to myself, that I’m giving myself a gift,” she says.
By turning her indulgences into events and using the portion-control skills and other tools that she learned through Weight Watchers, Rosemary lost 87 pounds in only 18 months. “This is the only thing that worked for me,” she says. “I’m an emotional eater, so I had to change my mindset toward food. Now, when I think about food and losing weight, I don’t think ‘deprivation,’ I think ‘indulgence and pleasure.’”
WINNING ACTION
Think quality, not quantity. Rosemary is really onto something here! Instead of taking a “sneaking” or “cheating” attitude toward indulging her cravings, Rosemary celebrates the pleasure of the occasional treat. Give yourself
permission to do the same. Enjoy your favorite foods— buy the absolute best quality for yourself and savor every single bite.
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