The Trainer Momma
Valentine Giveaway
ends Monday!
Click here
to get your chance to win a new
Polar Heart Rate Monitor!
Valentine Giveaway
ends Monday!
Click here
to get your chance to win a new
Polar Heart Rate Monitor!
On with the show --
This question came in from Fit Momma Carolee:
From your blog I can clearly see that eating healthy is very important to you and key to staying in shape, but is there ever a time when you allow yourself to "cheat"? Will you eat birthday cake or a fattening meal with your husband on your anniversary? ... I want to know how a healthy eater handles the occasional celebration.
Heck yeah I cheat!
Greasy burgers and fries, creamy fettuccine Alfredo, a fluffy white roll, or a bag of Dortios -- nothing like that ever really tempts me or crosses my lips. My biggest temptation hands down is sugar -- in anyway shape or form. Quadruple layer chocolate cake, Jamoca Almond Fudge ice cream, homemade sugar cookies, gummy bears, nasty candy from the dollar store. It doesn't matter. I have a radar for sugar and can track it down faster than my two-year-old can find a permanent marker (which is pretty instantaneous. Thank goodness for Mr. Clean Magic Eraser).
I've been all over the board as far as cheating goes. And for me it boils down to one thing:
TRUST.
TRUST.
I've been doing this health stuff for over 11 years now and I finally have come to a point where I trust myself around sugar. This in itself has been a huge hurdle and oh, so liberating.
I have a cheat meal once a week. On Date Night or Sunday dinner I throw the calorie counting out the window and indulge in dessert. I just assess the week, see what is coming up, and decide ahead of time when I'm going to have the dessert then look forward to that time all week. When the holidays hit (hello, Valentine's Day!) that just will count as my cheat meal. Very occasionally you'll catch me eating some sugar, but it usually will just be a bite of something and I'll factor it into my calorie count that day.
When cookie dough crosses my path, it makes it much easier for me to pass up everything all week, knowing that I can have some goodies in a few days. I even have hoarded treats that I passed up throughout the week to save for that cheat meal, but find that when that day rolls around I no longer want them. There's just something not so magical about a cinnamon roll four days old.
I do have to watch my portions when I get sugar. An entire pan of brownies, 1/2 bag of chocolate chips or picking all the chunks out of the ice cream container will lay me flat. Unfortunately, this has been learned through painful, belly-aching personal experiences (multiple times). My body has been eating this way for so long that if I do overload with sugar or fatty foods I get really sick. We're talking up most of the night with digestion problems and into the next day. Then, my workout is lousy -- and well, it's just a cycle I try to avoid.
For me, this is working. It used to be impossible to get back on the "Good Eating" wagon after I cheated, but now it's no problem. This is has been a learned skill. I actually welcome the clean eating after Funfetti cake and chocolate ice cream (that was last Sunday's cheat -- it was my son's birthday).
Hey, Fit Mommas -- do you cheat? What works for you? Or do you cut yourself off from tempting foods cold turkey? Do share, por favor!
Thanks so much for the question and for reading Trainer Momma. You can contact me here. Send any questions or thoughts my way anytime -- I love this stuff!
8 comments:
Boy, can I totally relate. I'm a sugar-holic too. Fortunately, I had a mother that was very health conscience and raised us kids to have helathy eating habits!
I am so glad someone asked that question, because I was wondering what you would answer myself. I have such problems with sugar. Thank you for your answer!
Sugar here too.... Unfortunately, I demolish anything with sugar. I've even been known to eat brown sugar by the spoonful- out of the bag! It's pretty gross and something that I'm constantly working on. I can't have anything in the house. I'm glad that I'm not the only one - makes me feel a little better!!!
It seems like there are several "special occasions" happening in the same week and I dont know how to choose!! I definetly need to be a little more discriminating on what I consider "special" or a splurge meal. My problem is I think dessert for FHE, GNO on Tue, date on Friday and Sunday dinner all need to have treats:) How do I get our of this cycle!?!
Very well put, TM. Anything found in a bakery is my weakness - I've had actual dreams about whole loaves of warm, fresh, french bread. Cheating is an emotional issue for me because I WANT to be able to eat whatever I want, whenever the mood strikes, but I KNOW I can't. I get tummy troubles as well when I eat poorly, but that hardest part is that my body wants chocolate or sugar every day. I find that I must abstain completely or I'll have so many mini-cheats, I don't realize I'm eating an entire 13x9 pan of fudge over the course of a week (true story). I'm queen of "It doesn't count as a cupcake if I only eat the top with the frosting"; of course, I do that to three cupcake tops.
I agree wholeheartedly with you and Carolee who said that most things just aren't worth it and you have to be discerning. I'd eat a school lunch dessert just because it's chocolate, so I have to force myself to realize that a so-so dessert isn't worth the calories I could be using on something amazing, a week later.
Such a hard issue for so many of us!
Yep the "special occasions" are easy to creep in -- especially when you have kids! My SIL has a great saying, "I don't want to waste my sugar on that." The girl has the will of iron and it shows. I know how hard I'm working to reach my goals, so whatever I'm "wasting my sugar on" better be doggone AWESOME! The Funfetti cake and choc ice cream from my boy's bday? Um, not so awesome. I hate it when I'm let down like that.
Wow, this post is so for me! I've always been able to turn down the big cheeseburger. I LOVE healthy food like veggies and whole grains. But I can't turn down a warm chocolate chip cookie, a cupcake, etc. With eating disorders in the past, I try not to get TOO restrictive (or, here comes BINGE!), but I HAVE learned the more sugar I allow my body, the more I need.
As of late, there's no candy in the house, or treats that tempt me. It's SO much easier that way.
But, then I also feel this weird "oh, my kids and husband are punished because I'm not making cookies each day, or there aren't Valentines candies just sitting around."
I DO believe, if I absolutely want something, I'll make great lengths to get it. No more sub-par desserts. I'll get in my car and drive to that bakery down the street for the to-die-for cookie I'm craving. And enjoy it. But, sometimes I realize it's not all that!
Wow, that was long.
I'm so glad to hear you say this! YAY!! I wish I had some tips, but I agree - once you've gone without a certain type of food for a long time, you don't really crave it anymore...and it may even give you a stomach ache if you do eat it (meat, dairy, chocolate). :)
Post a Comment