From skwigg's journal:
If my intention is to lean out, I need to eat like I intend to get leaner.
It sounds super logical but it's easy for that critical piece to get lost in the shuffle of reading and planning. For me, it means that satisfaction becomes more important than ever, because if I'm more satisfied, I need less food. It means asking, "Would I be ok without that?" Often I don't need or really care about all of the bread, the extra serving of whatever, the appetizer that was just ok. I can pass on those things I don't care about, enjoy the foods I do care about and still see results. This is where Jill's talk about situational eating and food FOMO (fear of missing out) really come into play, in addition to the abundance mindset (there's always more where that came from), and the moderation practices (one fry, three bites of dessert, practicing saying "no" once a day, surfing the 30 seconds of disappointment if you decide not to have something). These skills aren't about deprivation. Of course you can always eat all of anything you ever want. But it's powerful to build your trust and confidence in your own decision making. You can eat anywhere, be served anything, and you're not doomed to gain weight just because there are French fries on the table, or you're on vacation, or you ate gas station food for two days on a road trip. If you eat with the intention of getting a little leaner, you can do that at hot dog stands, or chocolate festivals, or wherever you may find yourself. That understanding was miraculous to me because I thought my success depended on controlling all of these outside factors. If I wanted to get leaner, I couldn't go on vacation, I couldn't eat out, I definitely couldn't bake. I had all of these conditions that needed to align just so or why bother? That kept me stuck for a long time.
If I intend to get leaner, eat like I intend to get/stay lean. The external circumstances are almost irrelevant.