Great question! It sounds like you’re aware that your body feels better when you are making healthier choices which is good motivation right there. However, the more restricted you feel around the foods that you want to eat, the more likely you are to crave them and overindulge when you do “allow” yourself to have them. In order to prevent this from happening, try to figure out ways to work your preferred foods into your daily life in a way that will be satisfying but not cause your body to “fight back.”
For example, if there is a sweet treat food that you’d like to enjoy, make sure to have it immediately after a meal in order to decrease the effect on your blood sugar (and enjoying it when you’re not too hungry might also cause you to eat less of it). Or, you can try to find a healthier alternative to the food that you crave such as whole fruit instead of juice, frozen greek yogurt instead of ice cream, or baked potato wedges instead of french fries. It might also help to try to eat your preferred foods in a mindful way in order to really savor them so that you can enjoy them without eating them in excess if that causes your body to react in a negative way.
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