So yes, I cheated really badly yesterday. I had things to do and I couldn't eat at home, so I tried to choose the best things to eat at my mom's house. But we hadn't gone to the store so she didn't have much. I started out pretty well though, I had about 2 handfuls of grapes and some cashews at my brother's request. (I was going to have Pringles because of the convenience, but he talked me out of it. I'm glad he did.) However, I then had like, WAY too many corn chips (they were gluten free, doesn't mean they're healthy!). And then for dinner I had red beans and rice. I have allowed myself to have rice and beans, but I ate almost an entire pot of it. :/ SO NOT GOOD.
This is kind of what I want to address in this post. How I cheated and why that's okay, but also my difficulties with portion control. So first, cheating. I don't have any cheat days built in because I've found that that just encourages me to gorge myself whenever that day comes around. And I don't think I can handle having only one day where I can eat whatever food I want and then the next day going back to Primal. The only reason I was able to eat well again today is that I didn't have any wheat yesterday. I am almost 100% sure that if I'd eaten mac & cheese for dinner last night, I would've quit this diet. Because I have very little willpower if I don't stay away from wheat. It's like a trigger in my brain that switches on whenever I have wheat that says "Since we're eating this, go ahead and eat EVERYTHING ELSE that is bad for you." So I'm staying away from wheat as much as possible.
But I want to stress that this is just me, how my body responds to wheat and eating healthy. I count red beans and rice as cheating because I ate too much of it to be healthy. This is where portion control comes in. I just realized last night that the reason I eat so much of certain foods is because those foods are the ones I grew up eating a lot of. Red beans and rice, spaghetti, etc. are all foods that I never restricted before. So when I do eat them, I'll have to make sure I measure them out and eat salad or something with them so I'm actually full from the meal.
I also want to say that it's okay if I cheat, or you cheat, as long as you keep eating healthy foods. If you "absolutely have to try" that amazing-looking double-chocolate cake at a party, or there's a really good slice of pizza at a pizzeria in New York or somewhere, and it won't throw you completely off your routine, do it! This kind of goes hand-in-hand with the 80/20 rule I wrote about last post. If it doesn't trigger you to eat everything, like it does me, try it, have that experience!
Or if you're having trouble staying on your diet, and you eat that last donut on the counter, don't feel guilty about it. You cheated, we all do it (except maybe the people with inhuman amounts of willpower, but we won't talk about them). The best thing to do is monitor how you feel after you ate it and make your next meal healthy. If it made your stomach hurt or gave you a headache, remember that for next time. It always helps me to remember how awful I felt after eating something, the next time I'm tempted. And sometimes, if I'm tempted, just smelling the food is good enough for me.
The worst thing is when you have no choice but to cheat. It could be on a plane, or at a relative's house and they have nothing for you to eat. Those are the times when you need to cheat or you won't eat anything. It's awful, being forced to cheat, but if it's necessary there's no reason to feel bad about it. There's nothing you could've done.
Anyway, I hope this makes some of you feel better if you have cheated. Or given you a reason to cheat occasionally? 😜 Oh well, whatever it's done, I hope y'all are feeling good today, because I'm not.
Alrighty, peace, love and Rock 'n' Roll! ✌
Sam
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