Photo Courtesy of www.AmandaSheaPhotography.com
How cute is little Liam (aka Superman)?! Clearly he’s indulging in a little cheat meal here. Even Superman indulges here and there…
“Cheating” or indulging here and there is an important (perhaps necessary?) part of life. It means something different to everyone. For me cheating is an orgranic gluten free brownie from the local health food store. For others it’s a Big Mac and fries.
NOTE: I would like to suggest choosing the healthiest version of cheat foods. Perhaps a great homemade burger with all the fixings, rather than a McDonalds “burger” (do you really know what’s in that meat??)
Regardless of quality, there is much to be said for cheating. I recommend it to all my clients. In fact, cheating is an integral part of all my weight loss programs for moms. In these programs, moms work off the 80/20 Rule. Eat clean 80% of the time and indulge 20% of the time.
Do you know how many meals a week 20% is? 2 meals. NOT 2 days. NOT an entire weekend of hoovering all the food and alcohol you want. In fact, I can tell you right now, if you eat well all week and totally let yourself go over the weekend week after week, you will NEVER lose weight. You will perhaps maintain your current weight. But, most likely you will gain weight over time. Trust me. I’ve tested this cycle out for you personally. I gained the weight so you wouldn’t have to. You’re welcome.
The 80/20 rule is ESSENTIAL for losing baby weight. In fact, my most disciplined moms, looking for the fastest results, work off a 90/10 plan. Losing baby weight is all about focus, discipline and determination. You must tell yourself that you CAN and WILL do it. It starts with committing to being really on top of your nutrition 80-90% of the time.
My weight loss moms have 2 cheat meals a week. They plan them at then beginning of the week. From there, they can really focus on eating well the rest of the week. They know exactly when they will get to indulge and that motivates them to dial in their nutrition as a means of “earning” their scheduled indulgence.
I call this The Psychology of Cheating. If you plan your indulgences, there is no guilt. You look forward to it. It’s a positive thing to look forward to. And every bite is a mouthful of heaven. Afterward, you feel happy and content and ready to get back to your clean eating weight loss program that is giving you incredible results. It’s a positive, feel good experience.
Compare that to unplanned indulgences: Life gets hectic, you grab something you don’t even care about, for the sake of convenience. You know you should make a better choice, but you don’t have the time/energy/focus to do so in the moment. So, you eat something you know you shouldn’t. You don’t even really enjoy it. After you feel horribly guilty. You find yourself asking, “Why did I do that?” You tell yourself it wasn’t worth it and you’ll start fresh tomorrow/next week/next month….. And you do this over and over and over, feeling horrible everytime you indulge. How fun is that???
There is no enjoyment in resorting to trash food in a moment of weakness. But, there is power and strength in scheduling a time to enjoy something you know you’ve worked hard for. Do you see how this is totally different?
Over time, the cleaner you eat, the more healthy your “cheats” will become. You will learn that eating crap makes you feel like crap. For me, a cheat meal is usually a dinner out where I pick whatever I want off the menu. However, I really only want things that will make me feel good. My biggest indulgences are typically cheese appetizers or chocolate desserts. Here is my cheat meal from last Saturday:
Halibut with Pea & Carrot Puree over Fingerling Potatoes at Lecosho in Seattle
This meal was DELISH and totally nutritious. The indulgence was the potatoes and the larger portion than I’m used to. Additionally, my husband and the couple we were with split a chocolate torte for dessert. OMG. I could have hogged the whole thing to myself. Was definitely glad to have share, so I wouldn’t have regrets later….
So, as you head into the weekend, choose 1-2 indulgences. Don’t enter the weekend with wild abandon. As you enter next week, put together a mini meal plan for the week, even if it’s just in your head. Decide when you will have your two indulgences and then crush the clean eating the rest of the week. You will feel so proud AND you will LOVE your indulgences. Like I said, they are necessary, right? I mean who doesn’t need a HappyCake every now and then?
This is one of my favorite little ladies, Georgia, taking an (extra large) bite of a cupcake (or HappyCakes, as she calls them, because they are pretty dang happy….)
Special thanks to my friends and Fit Healthy Moms, Amanda Shea and Katie Carlson, for letting me hijack these completely adorable photos of their precious little people, Liam and Georgia.
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