Eating In Shades Of Gray

Black-and-white thinking (also referred to as “all-or-nothing” thinking) is a mindset where people tend to see their nutrition and training program as “on or off” rather than some place on a continuum between the two.

This is common in dieters who, upon deciding to deviate for a dinner or go on a vacation, essentially end up deciding that since they are “off plan” they might as well stuff their faces instead of simply moderating how much off plan food they are actually eating.

As you might expect, this mindset is highly detrimental to developing an enviable physique, but it is also the furthest thing from having balance.

If this is you, I would encourage you focus on learning to live in the gray areas when you do decide to go out for a dinner. While you might technically be “off plan”, remain mindful of HOW MUCH you’re actually consuming and you’ll be able to mitigate some of the negative consequences of that deviation while still and enjoying the experience and negating the guilt that would otherwise follow.

Seeing people achieve this for the first time always brings a tear to my eye.

(Kidding obviously. I had my tear ducts removed. I wasn’t using them.)