if stringent diet plans and fitness regimens have never worked for you and you are constantly making an effort to steer clear of junk food then defensive eating is what you should opt forwhat is defensive eating do not mistake it for a crash diet plan or a rigorous exercise regimen defensive eating is an attitude it is a comprehensive food and exercise plan which has been specially designed to manage your weight and to help you stay away from unhealthy eating the pattern includes a regular flexible lowfat eating programme that adjusts the level of activity with the right amount and type of food that needs to be consumed it focuses on the size of the portions we consume and encourages us to maintain a balance between nutritious food and our cravings in fact this plan does not force you to count your calories with every meal nor is it about depriving yourself of sinful temptations while dietician dr samved khona says defensive eating is just the first step towards a healthy lifestyle and can be followed as a sound lifestyle pattern for the rest of our liveshowever since we have many social commitments it is not necessary that we can always live up to the idea however that does not mean that you will fail you can continue whenever you find the timechoose a healthy lifestyle it is all about the attitude of eating the right things that help the body remain healthy however it is extremely important to understand that we do not need to constantly think about losing weight or gaining calories it is just an adjustment attitude between the mind and body that needs to be trained to follow this pattern choosing healthy things is a lifestyle change that you need to bring in yourself hence making healthy food choices by defending yourself against unhealthy food try bringing in a few defensive thoughts when others offer you things that do not fit in your plan of healthy eating keep away from temptationlearn to say no the inability to say no to things is a common trait we think that it might be rude to refuse people offering food that does not suit the defensive eating pattern that one is following however it is important to avoid things that do not support our new lifestyle you can always reason out with them explaining the defensive eating attitude for instance if you have already had your quota of carbs or sweets for the day it is prudent to refuse an extra serving of the sameskip the soda sodas form the most interesting part of any buffet table in fact most of our drinks include a wide range of sodas be it flavoured or nonflavoured onesmost parties and gettogethers serve them as they are the most consumed beverage be it with spirits or in the form of mocktails or just plain colasaerated drinks contains the maximum amount of sugar which indirectly ups your sugar intake they also increase