I try dieting but I always end up feeling so deprived that I cave in. Once that happens, I feel totally miserable, like I’ve failed and have to start all over again. It’s a vicious cycle. How can I break it?

The feeling of deprivation sabotages many attempts to lose weight. Most people get disgusted with themselves for feeling deprived, thinking deprivation is a sign of weakness or gluttony or some other negative trait. One thing you can do is to change your attitude about feeling deprived. See it as a friendly warning sign that it’s time to do something different. It’s like a flashing yellow light we give ourselves before our diet totally crashes and burns. Ironically, the best thing you can do as soon as you start feeling deprived is to eat some of whatever it is you’re craving. If you’re feeling deprived because you’ve told yourself you can’t have ice cream, go have some ice cream. If you’re feeling deprived because of the whole idea of dieting, give yourself a day off. One day of eating whatever you want won’t destroy a diet. Staying on the diet yo-yo will.