“It’s all light!” is the large caption on the Everyday Food magazine I recently received. Light? I might have to burn this issue.

If you love food, then it’s sacrilegious to diet. But, just as you’ve done for the past four New Years, you’ve resolved to absolutely, positively lose weight this year. So how long will you be able to keep up with the cabbage soup diet or the 10-day Master Cleanse lemonade purge?

One of the greatest pitfalls of dieting is that it's difficult to stick with it. Primarily, restriction causes food binging. Who wouldn’t want to eat an entire carton of ice cream after throwing back cayenne pepper-laced lemonade for 10 days? And fad-diet ingredients can be difficult to obtain. Many are too expensive or just plain revolting — try finding milk thistle or acai berry at Meijer. And who has the time — or the perseverance — to write down and tabulate every calorie consumed?

Dieting can also have unhealthy effects on the body. Quick, “lose-X-pounds-in-Y-days” diets promise rapid weight loss, but eliminate little besides water. Similarly, “500-calories-a-day” diets will mainly rid you of your energy. Even if you have the gumption to stick it out, restrictive diets can lead to malnutrition and an unsatisfying relationship with food.

Finally, for the love of food, dieting is not for the foodies. Many diets and magazines try to offer customized meal plans and recipes that revolve around sugar substitutes and low fat stand-ins. While the effectiveness of fake sugars like aspartame and saccharin is debatable, incorporating a few low-fat products into one’s diet won’t cure an unhealthy eating style. And, though some magazines offer good recipe ideas, locking oneself into any magazine’s customized meal schedule allows little room for culinary exploration.

Are you willing to sacrifice dairy, red meat, carbs or alcohol? Save yourself the trouble and adapt a lifestyle change. Because, like Wendy Darling, one day you’ll have to grow up; you’ll want to adapt a lifestyle that will keep you happy, healthy and at a reasonable weight. Eventually you might also have to cook for someone else — and I wouldn’t bet on that person enjoying flax seed paste.

So here’s a way to permanently enjoy food without dieting.

First, and most importantly, aim to achieve balance throughout each meal, day and week by incorporating reasonable portions of each food group. You don’t have to cover the entire food pyramid in one meal, of course, but you should work to achieve equilibrium by the end of the day. If you ate too much bread at lunch, eat more fruit and vegetables for dinner.

If you eat or drink too much one day, just cut back the next. Try to listen to your body; if you’re still full from the previous night, your stomach will tell you to eat a smaller breakfast and lunch the next day. Aim to eat for pleasure and not for weight loss, especially if you’re trying to shed a few post-holiday pounds. If you can incorporate in moderation those foods you enjoy the most, you'll be less likely to overindulge and feel guilty about your food choices later. You don’t have to cut out your favorite foods — just cut back.

It’s also important to take on good eating practices, like sitting down while eating or eating at regular meal times. By adapting such practices, you will learn to slowly savor your food, encouraging fullness and healthy digestion. It may seem like common sense, but our fast-paced American lifestyle often leads us to lose touch with proper eating technique, causing us to focus on the television or computer instead of our meal.

Learning to cook for yourself also helps you get acquainted with your food and appreciate the ingredients you put into your body. The most successful way I’ve taught myself how to cook is by trying a new recipe every time I go to the grocery store. Pick out one recipe or meal and write the ingredients on your shopping list.