Have you ever felt that starting a diet meant you would never be able to taste fried chicken, a cheeseburger or a hot fudge sundae again, and the thought is so depressing that you give up even before you begin? Do you feel like life is too short to eat nothing but boring salads and grilled chicken? Well, there is a place for “unhealthy” foods in a diet and this article about how to cheat and not blow your diet will tell you the correct way to do it.
First, we must define what “cheating” is. We polled some of our clients and asked them how they define cheating. 25% said eating whatever you want for a whole day, 33.3% said eating whatever you want for one snack, and 41.7% said eating whatever you want for one meal. But, truly cheating is to eat something, not that great, one item of one meal. For example, having a mayonnaise based sauce on your asparagus instead of plain steamed asparagus or having a serving size of mashed potatoes instead of a sweet potato. Cheating is eating something you know isn’t the best choice but making a conscious decision to do it anyways.
What are the effects of cheating? It will raise you blood sugar which means you will start craving things like pasta, sweet and salty foods. It takes you down a very slippery slope. You will also start to believe you can cheat “just a little” and still maintain control but “just a little” turns into “just a lot” in a short period of time. You also undo all of your hard work. Let’s look at M&M candies. They are so small, you may wonder how just a few M&Ms can blow your diet.
1 M&M = 18 calories 1 minute of jumping jacks = 10 calories
10 M&Ms = 180 calories 18 minutes of jumping jacks = 180 calories
Is it worth it? That is the question you have to ask yourself. Would I rather spend those 180 calories in another way like eating ½ of a cheeseburger or a small fry from McDonalds. You must choose wisely where to spend your cheat calories.
People who continue to eat good during the week, yet eat with complete abandon on the weekend, and wonder why they never lose any weight is insane way of thinking. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over but expecting different results. Stop the insanity.
So why do we feel the need to cheat when we know all of these things? We deserve a little bit of pleasure because we have stuck to a sensible meal plan all week. It is a way to be rewarded for all of your hard work.
If you feel the need to cheat, this is how to do it properly:
- Do it in moderation.
- Make a good decision that gives you a feeling of reward and not regret. If you regret eating it, then it is not cheating, it is self sabotage which is mentioned below.
- Never eat out of the container the food came in. If you want to eat those 10 M&Ms then count out 10 from the bag, and then put the bag away. It is hard to judge a serving size when you are mindlessly grabbing from a bag.
Some of examples of proper cheating:
- Split an appetizer with friends but don’t eat from the appetizer plate, put a portion of the appetizer on the smaller bread plates and limit yourself to that one smaller plate.
- Order a dessert but ask the server to go ahead and place ½ in a To Go box. You are less likely to eat the other half when you get home.
- Eat one small handful of your favorite candy, not a bag.
Are you cheating yourself? Has your moderate “cheating” turned into self sabotage?
If you have a glass of wine and have an appetizer with your dinner out, then this is self sabotage
If you eat an unhealthy snack like M&Ms throughout the day, even in small portions, until the bag is completely gone, then this is self sabotage
If you are skipping meals throughout the day because you know you are going to be eating out that night, then this is self sabotage
I hear all the time “I feel off the wagon”. There is a difference in falling off the wagon, but jumping right back on it, and falling off the wagon and sitting there while it leaves you in the dust. Why do we fall of the wagon in the first place?
- NO FOCUS: If you don’t set goals, and you don’t put those goals in writing, then you aren’t going to be able to stay focused.
- NO PRIORITIES: Make your written goal your top priority that everything else revolves around. If you want to lose 10 lbs in a month then everything you do should be to help you reach that goal. Take a different route to pick up your kids from school if the McDonalds is too tempting. If you grab whatever is quick and easy from the vending machine because you need to work through lunch, then plan ahead with a meal brought from home.
- NO SUPPORT SYSTEM: Your goals will be so much harder to stick to if you go it alone. Find a friend who is willing to exercise with you, or eat sensibly with you. If you don’t have that, hiring a personal trainer or attending a Bootcamp will help keep you accountable.
- NO ACCOUNTABILITY: If you aren’t keeping a progress chart, weight record, body measurements or food journal then you will never see the progress you are making, and if you aren’t seeing progress there is nothing to keep you motivated.
- NO PATIENCE: If you are wanting a long term goal to happen in a short term time then you are setting yourself up for failure. Set realistic expectations and be patient to see those expectations turn into reality. It took you 5 years to put on those 30 lbs, don’t expect to be able to lose those 30 lbs overnight.
- NO PLANING: Don’t try and wing it. Sit down and plan it out. Decide what times during the day you will eat, what you will eat, and when you will exercise and stick to it. No planning leads to excuses. Life will always get in the way but you can choose how you want to manage it by planning ahead.
- NO BALANCE: If you start an exercise program that is too extreme you will quit after the first week. You must find an exercise program that works best for you. At NuBody Fitness we can help you make that decision based on your lifestyle and needs. Remember, slow and steady wins the race.
- NO PERSONALIZATION: Your nutrition and training program must be personalized to your schedule, personality, lifestyle, disposition and body type. Don’t pick up the Glamour magazine and expect the diet that Brittany Spears is doing to work for a middle aged woman with 3 kids who needs to lose 30 lbs.
CLEAR & SIMPLE
Focus
Prioritize
Get Support
Be Accountable
Be Patient
Plan Ahead
Find Your Balance
Personalize
