The CheckUp

Cut Back or Go Cold Turkey?

When it comes to breaking a food habit, which works better: quitting cold turkey, or just cutting back and continuing to enjoy the food in question in moderation?

Some experts note that most people do better by going cold turkey. But others, including dietitian Dawn Jackson Blatner, believe you can keep sweets or other temptations in your life, so long as you start by meeting your daily nutritional requirements. Fill up first on nutrition-packed foods, then use any remaining calories from your daily allotment to indulge in a treat.

-- Jennifer Huget

tvaillant wrote:

I believe the rule is that it takes about three weeks to change a habit. I find if I can forgo sweets (cookies, cake, pie, candy, chocolate, etc.) for about two weeks, the cravings go away. But one taste and I'm back where I started.