I’ve decided to give readers more success stories from my office to teach them that there is not one correct approach to weight loss – most of my patients take my basic principles (higher protein, cutting back on carbs somewhat) and figure out the diet plan that is just right for them. One of my patients was really struggling with feelings of deprivation during the early stages of her diet. She just didn’t want to give up dessert and wine. So we decided to try a different approach – I told her to plan on having a glass of wine and 100 calorie serving of chocolate EVERY night. In exchange, she had to be pretty structured the rest of her meals and follow the basic principles closely. She tried this approach for a week; keeping meals simple for the most part (protein bar for breakfast, frozen lean cuisine for lunch, fewer starches at dinner) and after barely losing any weight for weeks, she dropped 3 pounds in one week; even with one big mac attack slipped in!!! She said that knowing that she could have the wine and chocolate at the end of the day really helped her and some days, she even skipped the wine as it didn’t seem as essential when she knew that it was there if she wanted it. So the lesson is, if most of your diet is really good, you have a little room for a few indulgences on a regular basis (or as I say in my book: Lose the All or Nothing Mentality) Got a success story of your own??? email me melina@drmelina.com