Like it or not, we’re all human. No matter how much self-discipline we have or how strong our willpower is, there will come a time when we want Peanut M&Ms real bad. Guess what? There’s nothing wrong with that – and I encourage you to go ahead and enjoy them mindfully!
Does that advice sound counter-intuitive to everything you’ve heard about losing weight or healthy living?
Let me explain.
Let’s say you’ve been great for 12 days. You’ve been exercising and eating well and you feel amazing! All of a sudden, the Girl Scout cookies are right in front of your face, and because you’ve deprived yourself of everything on the “forbidden foods list” (and I hate calling it that because nothing should be “forbidden,” but that’s a topic for another day!), you dive into that box of cookies.
It felt good in the moment, but not too long afterward, you find yourself trapped in a cycle of food guilt. You think things like, “I’m a failure, I ate a whole box of cookies, I’m going to be fat forever, and I can’t do this.”
Yikes! Now you’re on a downward spiral that is difficult to escape.
Plan For It
As I said, we’re all human. Knowing that at some point we will all crave something from the not-so-healthy list, let’s plan for it.
There are so many fitness experts on board with this idea. Some call it flexible eating. This simply means that nothing is off the table, restriction is not ideal. In fact, restriction usually leads to creating the cycle of weight loss- weight gain. If you want to learn more about flexible eating email Coach Drea today! In a nutshell, flexible eating allows for indulgences while keeping you on the pathway to success.
Choose Your Plan
I don’t use the word cheat because my healthy diet is my plan, my way. There’s no cheating when I write my own diet rules! I call these treats, drumroll, please … Planned Indulgences.
There are a couple of options for your Planned Indulgence Strategy: You can have a daily 100- calorie treat (which might be a small handful of chocolate or a few French fries), or you can schedule two treat meals during the week.
Now, when I say treat meal, I don’t mean a full-on binge (4 boxes of Thin Mints is not a “meal”). Portion size is key – don’t eat a Brontosaurus burger suitable for the entire Flintstone family. But if you want to go out on a Wednesday night and have a great steak and a glass of wine, please do it!
At the beginning of the week, choose your strategy, and stick with the plan. You’ll thank yourself afterward.
Avoid Trigger Foods – At First
When you’re planning your treats, it could be tempting to treat yourself to the one food that you crave the most.
However, if you know that after you get a whiff of Tag-Alongs you will be an unstoppable Cookie Monster, choose something else. I recommend a food that you know will give you pleasure but isn’t a trigger. After some practice, you may be ready to integrate your trigger food into your Planned Indulgence Strategy, but make sure you’re ready first.
On July 27th we are going to help you end the cycle of self-sabotage! Join us for this online course that is guaranteed to break the chains of the crazy cycle of weight loss and weight gain. For more information click here! Hope to see you soon.
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