OHIO — Dieting is one of the biggest resolutions for the New Year, and having a cheat day can mess with one's mood, a registered dietitian warns.

What You Need To Know

  • According to Kristin Kirkpatrick, a registered dietitian with the Cleveland Clinic, it is time to ditch the all or nothing mindset

  • Consider eating nutrient dense foods for 80% of the time and the rest of the time eat whatever else you enjoy

  • If you find yourself having a hard time cutting certain foods from your diet, you should speak with a medical professional

According to Kristin Kirkpatrick, a registered dietitian with the Cleveland Clinic, it is time to ditch the all or nothing mindset.

"Sometimes we need to give ourselves a break," Kirkpatrick said in a press release. "We need to recognize that we are human and recognize that we are not going to be perfect in our dietary patterns each and every day. There’s going to be setbacks, and that’s really normal."

Kirkpatrick said instead of having a cheat day once in a while, consider eating nutrient dense foods for 80% of the time and the rest of the time eat whatever else you enjoy. She said this is known as the 80-20 rule. Another suggestion Kirkpatrick said is to avoid extreme diets that limit what you can eat.

"When we look at what really relates to sustainability, or long-term success, it really boils down to embracing our personal preferences, embracing our cultural and religious preferences," Kirkpatrick said. "When we look at those things and say, 'Oh, I have to do this. I have to lose weight.' We don’t sustain that habit because it’s not necessarily natural to us and what we prefer."

Kirkpatrick said if you find yourself having a hard time cutting certain foods from your diet, you should speak with a medical professional. 

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