Whether it be social, customary or other, there are many “pairings” that we have incorporated into our eating/drinking patterns. Here is what I mean: When we go to a restaurant and order a burger, what most often automatically is paired with this? Yep, those nice, hot French fries. At a fine restaurant the steaks are almost always paired with some sort of potatoes. At home? Who does not pair the peanut butter with that great tasting jelly?
How about that appetizer or side dish: macaroni and ____. The “blank” pairing is cheese.
This extends to desserts as well: Apple pie and ICE CREAM and ice cream paired with HOT FUDGE are examples.
Alcohol beverages: Rum paired with coke (Coca cola, not the nose coke), vodka paired with orange juice and gin paired with tonic are examples.
If we “decouple” the most derailing part of the classic pairings we can save lots of calories. For example, most restaurants offer a side salad instead of the fries for a small upcharge. Or, that fancy steak can be paired with broccoli as opposed to the garlic mashed.
Although drinking alcohol is very derailing for weight control efforts, taking away the classic pairings can help minimize the damages: Rum and diet coke, vodka and 0 calorie tonic and wine cut with a 0 calorie spritzer are examples.
During your long term weight control journey, take a step back and see if/how you incorporate classic pairings into your dietary strategy and then what steps you can take to decouple the ones that are hindering your weight control success.
