Everything in Moderation

First, allow me to fill you in on a few more things about myself.
I love chocolate and cannot fathom a life without carbs. There, I said it.
Now, with that in mind, let me also mention that the way I have learned to be able to enjoy these two addictions of mine is by being a very adamant proponent of moderation.
My own personal way of practicing moderation is by counting calories. For others it is using the very popular Weight Watchers Points system, or other similar type systems that control your daily food/caloric intake (in a HEALTHY way).

I am not saying they are bad or unhealthy or anything, but I have never been a fan of "low this", "no that", "ONLY this" type diets. In fact, the word diet just don't sit well with me.
If you understand the basic math behind losing weight (take in less calories than you burn daily) than you truly CAN eat almost any food you wish, IN MODERATION.

Now, could you say this means you would be able to eat nothing but Twinkies all day, and so long as you burn MORE than you consumed in cream-filled goodness you will lose weight? Sure. However, your primary care physician might not like you when you get your yearly physical labwork results.

One of the main reasons people are not successful in their healthy lifestyle/weight loss endeavors is that they have the "all or nothing" mentality. This type of thinking is an almost guaranteed way to fail.  When you deprive yourself of things you crave or enjoy, you almost always end up "falling off the wagon" and OVERindulging on the very things you were trying to avoid. It's human nature.
We always want what we cannot have.

However, if you maintain a healthy lifestyle and you PLAN and work your favorite "treats" into your menu, you can still see success in your weight loss efforts, and not spend so much time beating yourself up over failed attempts because the temptation became too strong and before you knew it, you were licking the inside of the Twinkie wrappers to get that last little taste of the filling that you so adore.

My point?   If you are using common sense and making smart choices in the bulk of your daily menu, you CAN indulge in that Twinkie :) 

I can assure you that I will be mindful in my menu up until the point tomorrow night when I am enjoying  a combined anniversary/Mother's Day celebration by partaking of various carbs dunked into warm, gooey cheesy goodness. Melting Pot, here I come!