{jeng’s
2 cents: cheating}
And
NO I’m talking about cheating on your loved one. I just want to make that clear
right away.
I’m
talking about cheating on your lifestyle of healthy eating…I’m not going to
call it a diet. It is a lifestyle. OWN that healthy living! Make it yours! “The
old has passed and the new has come!” Make it your normal for the rest of your life! No turning back!
So
is it okay to cheat on your healthy lifestyle? If so, when is it best to cheat?
What’s the best way to cheat and not feel guilty?
I
truly believe in loyalty. And another one of my biggest values is integrity. If
you say you are going to do something, you better do it. If you say you aren’t
going to do something, you better not do it. If something happens to change your
yes or no, than be manly or womanly enough to come out and say it rather than
pretend you never made the commitment to begin with. And I believe that applies
to everything including a commitment to eating healthy.
I
understand we are human and we all make mistakes. But fess up to them. I
respect that more than just going on like nothing happened.
Somehow
my rant is related to my topic. But I’ll get off my little soap box now. :)
A
commitment to a healthy lifestyle doesn’t mean it’s over if you cheat. I have
some suggested rules for cheating which hopefully doesn’t take the fun out of
cheating for you. But consider it being wise about your cheat.
So
here are JenG’s opinions on how to
and how not to cheat on your healthy
lifestyle:
DO plan your cheats. If you know the next
time you get a cheat, you might be less likely to binge cheat or cheat more
often. For me, Sunday morning is when I have my cheat breakfast. It’s either a
small amount of pancakes, muffins, waffles, or cinnamon rolls. But I usually
have my breakfast cheat with some fruit and eggs with sautéed vegetables. One
night over the weekend, I’ll have a cheat dinner - homemade pizza, maybe out to
eat, a creamy pasta dish. One or two days during the week, I might have cheat
chips (just a few) with my lunch or a cheat cookie. And I don’t have them
because I think I deserve them. My planned cheats keep me pretty much satisfied
for the week.
DON’T make your cheat a
reward.
This is especially true if you eating something bad (or eat bad all day) with
the excuse it’s okay because you worked out that day. I often hear people say
that they deserved that high calorie junk because they went to the gym. Or another
one I hear is they worked out today just so they could eat bad. One of the
worse excuses ever! What purpose people are really trying to accomplish with
kind of justification, I don’t understand. That bad eating just cancelled out
what good you did at the gym.
DO make it small. Either have something
already portioned or portion out a small serving of it and put the rest away.
Like away away. Under lock and key if you have to. Just do something with that
cheat so you won’t be as temped to get more.
DON’T make a full day
of it.
I once did a eating and workout program that gave me one day of eating freedom.
For the first 6 days, I was very strict on my eating. And at the end of day 6,
I looked and felt great! Day 7, I could get whatever I wanted. I mean WHATEVER.
I was doing this program with my husband at the time and we took that WHATEVER
truly to heart. A dozen Dunken Donuts shared between us in the morning. Pizza
buffet at lunch. An afternoon snack of
Arby’s curly fries and milk shakes. Goodness gracious who know what we had for
dinner. By the end of that 7th day, we felt so miserable and any
progress we had made that week was totally ruined. Our bodies had to start over
for our next 6 days of eating strictness. Later I redid that program where I
didn’t gorge myself on that 7th day and it made a HUGE difference. I
looked pretty darn good by day 90!
DO enjoy your vacation,
but DON’T ruin what you have worked for. It is very easy to get off the track. BUT it’s
very hard to get back on the track. Just like your plan your vacation
activities ahead. Plan your eating ahead. Bring some of your normal eating
foods and snacks with you. One, you will save some money. Two, you will be less
likely to eat poorly the whole time. Three, you will feel better about yourself
after your vacation.
DON’T keep your cheat
in the house if at all possible. You will be less temped to turn that cheat
into a habit rather than something special. Stuff typically means more when
it’s only used or had at special occasions.
DO make it a quality
cheat.
I said quality, not quantity. Make it really good. It’s your rare cheat. Why
waste it on something half as tasty, when you can have something REALLY tasty? Pick
something you really love. Don’t settle for some stale cake or donut or yucky
artificial chips and dip. Make it worth your time. It’s your little cheat, why
pick something you sorda like, when you can have something you love. For
example, I like cinnamon rolls. If I’m going to cheat with a cinnamon roll, I’m
going to make it a darn good, ooey gooey, just out of the oven with icing
melting all over it rather than a dinky cinnamon roll that is even a few hours
old. Compromising on your cheat is probably the worst waste of calories.
DON’T let your emotions
take over.
I’ve done this too many times. My head is saying “This is sooooo good! Just one
more bite, because I never get to have this.” And then one more bite turns into
eating way too much and later my tummy isn’t feeling well and I’m not happy
with myself and my lack of self control. Here is another emotion, “I’ll just
eat it all now or finish the rest of it so I won’t be tempted by it later and
it will be gone from this house.” Ever used that one? Yep, me too. Best advice
when you are thinking that – just throw it in the trash! I’ve done that on
several occasions. Let that good eating angel on your shoulder speak much
louder than the bad eating angel.
DO enjoy getting
together with family and friends. But eating crap doesn’t make that time spent together
any better. I understand there will be times you will be at a get together and
have a wealth of unhealthy foods available to you. There will be foods there
that you don’t normally eat but love. I’m not saying not to try a bite or two.
But keep some of the dos and don’ts above in mind to help your cheat not turn
into a huge disaster.
Here
are a few JenG tips for when you are at party or get together…
1. If possible, eat a big
healthy meal beforehand.
2. Definitely bring a
healthy dish.
3. Try not to hang around
the food. Because a little here, a little there can add a whole lot you know
where!
4. For every bad bite,
have at least 2 good bites.
5. Avoid dips. The dip
isn’t necessary to enjoy that veggie or fruit or chip. That is just extra
calories. More calories are probably consumed in the dip than what is being
dipped.
6. Have an accountability
partner. If you know someone else is trying to watch what they eat, you guys
can encourage each other.
7. Keep a drink
(non-alcoholic) in your hand…water is a fabulous choice ;) Not something
sugary, that just increases your craving to eat junk. It can create a viscous
cycle – something sugary can lead to wanting something salty, which can lead to
wanting something sugary…. I always have
to end on something sugary after going back and forth several times.
I
have truly found that I have less of a desire to cheat after making such a
serious effort to eat better and not have junk in my house to tempt me. My view
of food is different that it was before. I see it as fuel rather than a
pleasure. And trust me, I like to eat! I’m not saying you shouldn’t enjoy your
food. But it doesn’t need to control you. Food is either going to make you less
healthy or more healthy. And I prefer the more healthy. So when I see a food, my first thought is will
this food help or hurt my goal to be healthy? And why or why not? Understanding
that why or why not is very important. Educate yourself.
I
think allowing yourself to cheat on your healthy lifestyle here or there will
help you maintain eating right and staying on track. It does take some time to
train yourself on cheating “properly”. But being intentional about it is
important. You gotta give 100% to see success.
If
you go off the cheating deep end, stop yourself as soon as you can. Your path
to a healthy lifestyle isn’t over. Learn from that hiccup and strive to avoid it
from happening again. One thing I think is certain is once you realize how much
better you feel and how much your body likes this healthy lifestyle, it won’t
take you as long as you realize you have gone off the cheating deep end. When
your body isn’t used to that junk, it will quickly start yelling and saying it
doesn’t like what it is having! But that’s only after good training.
Remember
one of my mottos -
Choose
STRONGER! ~ ♥ JenG
Like me on FB - Stronger with JenG.
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