“CLEAN EATERS” be like – “Can’t wait till my cheat day !”
Is this your story too? What if I’d say, “let those “REASONABLY SIZED” treats be scattered throughout your life, instead of ‘cheat meal’ which often turns out as a ‘cheat day’ or ‘weekend binge’. And not to forget, the guilt that you take back home , after overdoing it .
Trust me, I too was pretty convinced initially with the idea of a cheat meal/treat. But, what happens in reality is totally different? It’s often blown out of proportion and we end up calling for anything and everything that fits within the 24 hour span of cheat day. This is pretty natural because we have literally “restricted” ourselves these 6 days.
Consider this case –study:
Monday : EAT CLEAN !
Tuesday : EAT CLEAN !
Wednesday : EAT CLEAN ! ( Its mid-week and we are half-way through !)
Thursday : EAT CLEAN ! ( One more day to go ! )
Friday : EAT CLEAN ! (Cant wait for tomorrow ! )
Saturday : ATTACK !!!
-Breakfast is usually skipped, to save appetite for the feast .
-The cheat meal which was supposed to be a “treat” now looks like: “Eat all that you have craved for this week ”+ the weekend “pour” (if you have a habit of drinking alcohol )
Sunday : Who doesn’t want comfort food on Sunday !
Monday (next week) : The aftermath !
-Wake up feeling “HORRIBLE”, bloated, greasy and very unhealthy
-Exercise is generally not in picuture because you feel aweful about the weekend
I am sure many can relate to this. No wonder, weekend binges were ruining our week’s hard work and goals seemed far away,
Hence, “moderation-365 days approach” !This no-brainer. Just requires practice, thoughtfulness, self-control and mindfulness.
Go ahead! In combination with clean eating, sprinkle those “tiny” treats here and there. The more we deprive, the more we feel the need to indulge (notice the word in inverted commas). BUT, that doesn’t mean we are better off eating whatever, whenever! There are a few rules here too :
- Find a healthy alternative:
Choose your battle: Dessert or a pizza and immediately think of its cleaner version. Like almond /coconut milk ice-cream or cauliflower crust pizza, zoodles (zucchini noodles), burritos made with clean ingredients.
I know cleaner versions means “high quality”, which means “expensive”. Accept it .After all, it’s of a “reasonable size” and will not burn a hole in your pocket.
OR
Make a home-made version, where you have a 100% control over what goes in it . Even better!
- In accordance to your appetite:
Eat what you actually want. Eat in tune with your hunger and you’ll likely end up eating a reasonable amount
- Enjoy treats time to time:
Like I mentioned several times before: SPRINKLE- REASONABLE SIZED TREATS .
Enjoy a piece or half of a cookie or a piece of dark chocolate…say on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday .
- Savour “EVERY” bite :
This is BIG ! Lack of this makes it easy to down a whole bar of chocolate or a tub of ice-cream or an entire pizza!
Place it in your mouth, take a moment to taste, smell and experience the food, Awaken your senses !
Well, these were my thoughts on what’s working for me . I know it’s a highly debatable topic but, this has helped me make a healthier pact with life and feel so much free and confident.
Neither does healthy food nor the cravings run my life. I am on the driver’s seat when it comes to my chow choices.
What do you think about this? If you are already following this, I ‘d love to hear your success story . Lay it on me!
So true about the weekend blast and lack of motivation on the following eat clean days. Changing the lifestyle works rather than deprivation of favourite foods.