Pizza, fries, and ice cream. Does just the thought of these foods make you gain 12 pounds? What if I told you that you can include these without gaining weight? And even while you are losing weight? How does that feel? Sounds freeing but unlikely, right?

We’ve been told time after time that if we want to lose weight then we have to just be in a calorie deficit and eating clean is the way to go. While there is some merit to this and I’m not saying calories don’t matter, they aren’t king. When it comes to the quality of food, I’m also not saying to eat ice cream every day at lunch because we also know nutrient-dense foods are going to provide us with so many benefits towards our health and weight loss goals.

I love an ice cream date night or grabbing pizza with friends. However, years ago I remember pizza nights being a couple times a week and I’d eat nothing but pizza as my whole meal. I would come home feeling pretty tired or hungry again within 2 hours and then wake up with a stomach ache.  I’ve also attempted to cut out all sweets in the past. It would last for 2 weeks, then it would turn into finishing a container of Oreos within a week. In fact, one time I bought the skinny Oreos but ended up eating ½ the box while watching an episode of The Bachelor. 

After years of torturing myself, I finally made adjustments with how often and how I include other foods alongside foods that I once felt the need to constantly restrict. When I learned that I could really eat these foods whenever I wanted, they truly became less exciting. 

Do you feel out of control when you do include these foods? Here are some explanations.

Situation #1: This could be due to an imbalance of intake throughout the day because maybe you saved up to indulge in the “bad foods.” Saving up calories may seem like a good idea but once you get to that meal, it makes sense to feel out of control because you are hungry and your body has been restricted. So, then we overdo it and feel pretty crummy with a side of guilt. 

Situation #2: If you don’t have a balance of protein, fat, and fiber, then your blood sugar is thrown off, causing increased cravings, sleepiness, fatigue, mood fluctuations, and even leading to your body storing fat. 

Situation #3: You’ve been so strict with these foods and you don’t know how it feels to be a normal eater. 

These are some of the steps my clients have taken to be able to include all the more fun foods while working on weight loss. Now they are having chips go stale, ice cream get freezer-burnt, and they walk by a box of cookies without having a huge debate.

Step 1: Allow these foods in moderation because having the perfect diet isn’t working for you. 

Quantity and quality of what you eat matters so I would not recommend these less nutrient-dense foods every day. This doesn’t make them bad; they just don’t provide as many nutrients when you compare ice cream to a cup of berries. Nutrient density simply refers to the amount of nutrients per calorie for that food. Foods like animal meats, fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds, and whole grains are considered nutrient-dense because they have high amounts of vitamins, minerals, proteins, fiber, healthy fats, etc. Essentially, you’re getting more bang for your buck with these foods. 

However, if you were to only focus on nutrient-dense foods, this can lead to dissatisfaction with meals, an obsession surrounding your food choices, and possibly some disordered eating tendencies. The key is what we hear all the time… moderation. 

But what does moderation mean exactly? Moderation refers to consuming foods in what would be considered an “appropriate” amount and enjoying a variety of foods while being aware of how much and how often. This means you’re not completely ridding yourself of any particular food or food groups. 

Moderation can look different for each person depending on what you value, your priorities, and your overall goals. The idea of moderation is to give you flexibility. Without flexibility, eventually having the “perfect diet” becomes unsustainable. You should be able to enjoy your meals. Food is not your enemy. Eating a cookie doesn’t mean you’ve been “bad.” 

While it feels like you have to be super strict in order to lose weight, maybe it’s that exact thinking that has left you stuck or in a sequence of diets for years. You haven’t learned to find balance in all foods. As a weight loss dietitian, I don’t give a blanket statement about how to limit your desserts or pizza. Part of finding this moderation is asking yourself how committed you are to your weight loss goal and how much you value desserts. If you are super serious about finally losing those 20 pounds, maybe this looks like dessert 1x every other week. Or if you have a weight loss goal but also aren’t ready to cut dessert to that, what would 2x per week compared to every night look like? Reflect on what your current habits are and then decide how you’d want to adjust. 

Step 2: Neutralize the threat. 

Like I stated above, these foods aren’t bad, they are just less nutritious. Classifying foods as good vs bad typically is going to affect us more emotionally. For example, if we eat a “bad” food that means we’re a “bad person,” which is just not true. Or if we consistently restrict these bad foods, then when we finally do eat them we get in a scarcity mindset because we are unsure when we will ever get to have pizza again so we better eat it while we have the chance. 

Think of it like this – most people are hardly overindulging on eggs. Eggs are a neutral food. We have them for breakfast and we just move on from life. There is no fear or guilt with an egg breakfast. Donuts may be more of what we call a “special breakfast,” so when donuts come they feel special and we can easily overdo it. Instead, you can neutralize the thoughts around donuts, enjoy, balance it out, and move on. 

At the end of the day, you’re an adult and you have the power to decide your thoughts around foods. Change these thoughts and change how you feel about weight loss forever. 

Step 3: Create the balance

Speaking of donuts, here is how we can include less nutrient-dense foods in moderation; you create balance! Donuts by themselves would be a blood sugar roller coaster, which could also be why you feel like a spiral out of control after a meal like this (check out this post on the blood sugar roller coaster). The key to each of your meals is creating balance with protein, fat, and fiber. Take your lonely donut and add some eggs and berries – trust me, you’ll physically feel the difference.

Quick tips: 

Pizza – add toppings like chicken, ground beef, bell peppers, mushrooms, and spinach; opt for thin crust vs deep dish

Pizza or pasta – Add a serving of veggies to the side and top it with protein

Ice cream – include it around your meal, throw in some chocolate protein for a milkshake, take a walk after

Fries – skip the bun and get starchy carbs from your fries  

Making adjustments like these doesn’t mean you’re on a diet, it means you’re getting out of the all-or-nothing thinking. When you intentionally make choices to balance your meal to be more blood sugar friendly, you will feel the difference and you can let go of the idea that meals have to either be perfect or a sh*t show for the rest of the day.

Get a little snobby and decide what you actually care about. Do you even like the dessert that’s being offered or are you just eating it because it’s right in front of your face? I like to think about this especially around holidays when there are 3 different breads, 2 potatoes, 8 desserts, and alcohol to choose from. If you don’t love rolls, then just skip them and enjoy the foods you really do want. 

Let’s also think logically about your 3-pound weight gain the morning after pizza. To gain just 1 pound of body weight, you would have to consume about 3500 calories extra. To put this in perspective, that would be about 14 slices of pepperoni pizza to gain 1 pound, which you probably didn’t do. What’s really happening is a water weight fluctuation that can be related to sodium or carb intake and even your digestive system.

Those few pizza nights or ice cream dates with your kids aren’t ruining your progress. What can hinder results is being in the all-or-nothing mode, a restrict-and-binge cycle, or a state of constant worry about creating the perfect meal. We hear Metabolism Makeover members say all the time that they finally feel food freedom. Food freedom is not about shoving your face with pizza every night and chasing it with a beer (trust me – if you did this you would get tired of it and it won’t last for long no matter how much you think that’s what eating what you want looks like). 

Food freedom is more about having the choice. In Metabolism Makeover, we give you the information so that you can finally understand what your body is telling you and how food is affecting your everyday life. Then, as an adult, you get to take that information and apply it to your life how you see fit. This is what creates a balanced and healthy relationship toward all foods. This is what brings enjoyment and satisfaction back to your meals while working on weight loss. 

If this sounds like exactly what you’ve been needing in your weight loss journey, I invite you to join our next round of Metabolism Makeover. Let go of the pressure to be perfect and learn how to find balance. 

–Coach Baylee