There are days in which my eating gets a little away from me and I go to bed thinking that tomorrow I will be hyper diligent. So, let's say I go out to dinner and have a bite of this or a bite of that, and then top it off with the house's "special" dessert. Well, the next day I focus on clean food with maybe even a mindful eye on calorie intake.

I will even try to eat the next two days like this to reinforce my good habits. I notice that by counteracting a fun eating day with a few strict days, I end up killing a few birds at once: I stay in control of my food, and I get to enjoy delicious foods that I like but don't want as a part of my day-in and day-out menu.

If I do have one of those days, I don't punish myself because I slipped. Instead, I just create a strategy for how I'm going to stay on top of my goal to eat healthy for my health, body, and weight.

Over time, I've realize that I do feel better when I eat foods that serve my health rather than just satisfy my palette or emotional desires. I can convince myself more easily why I choose to eat healthier foods because I have truly felt, and seen, the difference in how each way of eating affects me: my moods, bloating, overeating, feeling stuffed, quality of sleep, energy levels, etc. 

Listen, there is no doubt that food can be a lot of fun, but it's important that you focus on for the most part (shoot for 80% of the time) on choosing food that will fuel your body best. Then, when you do go have some fun, you can truly enjoy it because you know that you're still in charge.