If you clicked on the title of this piece the odds are that you, my friend, were struck by the irony of the title. In some ways that inherent contradiction that sense is very true. In other ways the fact that you can’t see past it is really hurting your weight loss (or weight management) efforts.

After all, the idea that a diet must be an absolutely Spartan affair is one that many dieters across the globe share. They believe that the only path to success is to stay 100% away from any of the temptations that you could possibly over indulge in. While that approach may work it has a few flaws.

1. Most people can only keep away from temptation for so long before they will end up back sliding in the long run. Despite what the experts will try to drill into your head will power is not an infinite resource that you perpetually have access to. Sometimes things happen and you just have to deal with that fact. Ignoring it just sets you up for a cycle of binging and guilt that is counterproductive both physically and mentally in the long run.
2. It is deadly dull. No really, have you ever tried to eat a meal with someone who will not indulge in anything at all. They ask the chef to change how the meet it cooked, order all their sauces on the side, almost never have an appetizer besides salad, and dessert never sees the light of day. They could possibly be the most boring people on the face of the earth. More boring than people who watch paint dry for fun.

On the whole you will probably not want to live that life or be that person. So, lets talk about how the idea of reasonable decadence can keep you on your diet without driving your mad with deprivation.

One of my favorite dishes in chicken parm. Now normally I would have simply sashayed my way down to the local restaurant to get me some of it. In order to make this fair, I decided to use a national chain’s calorie count. If you get your chicken parm at an Olive Garden the dinner portion will set you back a whopping 1090 calories. Yes, more than ½ a days recommended calories in one meal. Not counting your drink, your dessert, your bread, your soup or salad.

Making it at home I have learned that I can have my parm, once and a while, without putting too much of a dent in my diet. Lets talk about my chicken parms contents.

One four-ounce chicken breast (140 calories)

1/2 cup Ragu sauce for the pasta and the chicken (70 calories)

1 cup cooked pasta (220 calories)

That brings up to a grand total of 430 calories for the whole meal. Since I do not bread the chicken I don’t need to worry about calories for that. Want to take it even lower, then ditch the pasta and add in a cup of mixed vegetables, which only have 55 calories. That makes the meals total only 265 calories for a full plate of food.