ARE YOU IN DIET DEBT?

If your-eating habits aré stuck in an_endiless cycle of debt and:credit; it's timeto balance the books for good:

- LAURA GREAVES

If the last few years proved anything, it's this: frugality is the new black. In the aftermath of the global pandemic, we've tightened our belts. Many of us are even paying our credit card balances in full each month. It's a smart approach, but while being super-thrifty and saving for a splurge on a rainy day might make sense for your finances, it's hardly healthy to have a diet that forever swings from red to black.

Do you live in a state of 'diet debt', where you pig out as a reward for 'good' eating one minute and guiltily skip meals or drastically restrict kilojoules to make up for a blow-out the next? Inhaled a family-size block of chocolate last night? Best skip breakfast and lunch today. Then, because you've been so virtuous, you really deserve that greasy Pad Thai and bottle of sauvignon blanc at dinner, right? It's an all-too-familiar scenario for lifestyle blogger Elise Phillips. 'I have very little self-control, so when I do something simple like opt for a salad at lunch, I reward myself in the afternoon with chocolate because I think I've earned it,' she explains. 'I know this is unreasonable, but I have so much trouble trying to stick to healthy eating.'

FALSE ECONOMY 

Research shows that skipping meals or intentionally starving yourself can lead to eating disorders, such as anorexia and bulimia. It may surprise some to learn that this way of 'dieting' actually leads to the weight gain.

Failing to eat regularly causes the metabolism to slow down and the body becomes very efficient at conserving, rather than burning, kilojoules. Your body starts storing fat because it doesn't know when its next meal will arrive. Studies also show that people who skip breakfast tend to consume more kilojoules throughout the rest of the day because their hunger catches up with them and they overeat.